News Briefs

Fed’l Civil Rights Commission Publicly Decries Racist Mascots

On March 13, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights officially stated its position on American Indian nicknames and mascots as “offensive.” Specifically, the federal agency said this use of Native Americans and Native American symbols created racial hostility in colleges and high schools.
The statement reads, “Schools should not use their influence to perpetuate misrepresentations of any culture or people. Stereotypes of American Indians teach all students that stereotyping of minority groups is acceptable, a dangerous lesson in a diverse society.”
In the last few years, some institutions have already changed their racist mascots, but over 50 colleges and universities and thousands of high schools still sport Native American mascots. 
The statement was proposed in March by Elsie M. Meeks, an American Indian member of the commission. But arguments against the statement claimed that it wrongly tried to limit the freedom of expression. New wording affirms the commission’s respect for the First Amendment.
Two commissioners voted against the statement last Friday. 
One of the two, Abigail Thernstrom, said there were other more severe problems to address. “Indeed, I’d like to see the commission address those issues. But I just don’t believe that at the height of these problems are the names of athletic teams,” she said
Chair of the commission Mary Frances Berry responded, emphasizing the necessity of endorsing the statement. “The commission has made similar statements on behalf of African Americans, Asian Americans and people with disabilities. At no point did the commission think that eliminating images offensive to those groups was the only solution to problems.”

- Adrian Leung