Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Just two weeks after the Neshaminy School Board approved for its solicitor to begin drafting a defense to the state Human Relations Commission complaint filed by parent Donna Boyle on behalf of her son over the use of the school’s “Redskin” mascot, Board President Ritchie Webb delivered prepared remarks toward the end of Monday night’s meeting.
Boyle said previously at school board meetings that the district is promoting a “racist” term during sporting events and by placing the school’s American Indian mascot on official documents. She has claimed her teenage son is subjected to hearing the term on a daily basis.
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Recently, the high school newspaper, The Playwickian, had a meeting of editors and staff. The young journalists agreed to banish the term “Redskins” for the paper, a choice that has drawn a variety of reactions from the community.
Despite the majority’s decision, the newspaper published a dissenting editorial that defended the Redskins name.
Below are Webb’s remarks:
In recent weeks, the Neshaminy community found itself embroiled in another controversy. But this latest issue has nothing to do with labor contracts, or test scores, or educational programs. No, this disturbance has nothing to do with those things, but it does have a lot to do with the pride and tradition of the Neshaminy School District.
Of course I am referring to the complaint filed by one of our residents with the State Human Relations Commission over our use of the Redskin mascot.
Many people have said to the Board that this is a waste of time and money when we should be focusing on education. I agree with you that there are more pressing issues to be addressed in our district, but we do not have the luxury of ignoring this complaint. We take great care with all the issues brought before this Board, especially when they become legal matters.
I respect the opinion of the resident who brought this topic up at a couple of previous Board meetings. I also hear the voices of the many whom have written to us or who have taken to social media outlets to defend our Neshaminy heritage. There is no denying that this controversy has sparked very strong feelings from within our community.
I and every member of this Board also feel very strongly about this issue because all of us have a bond with the proud Redskin tradition. Like you, none of us would support the use of a mascot that promoted an unhealthy stereotype. And I guess this is where the problem lies. Most of the community regards the Redskin mascot as a proud tradition, while a few see it as a racial insult.
We researched the definition of Redskin to see when it became a racial slur. In our own Neshaminy libraries, we found a copy of a 1961 edition of The Oxford English Dictionary which defined Redskin as an American Indian. Nothing more, nothing less.
A 1966 edition of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary also defined Redskin as an American Indian. We saw the exact same definition in the 1971 and 1980 editions of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.
It wasn’t until we saw the 1982 edition of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary that the definition of Redskin included a blurb that it could be considered as an offensive expression.
We here in Neshaminy were first referred to as Redskins back in 1930 – that is more than 50 years prior to the dictionary term being altered. I think it is safe to say that our mascot was a time-honored tradition long before anyone was offended by it.
Some people have said that Redskin is a racial slur every bit as insulting to Native Americans as are other racial slurs that I dare not speak at this meeting. But I do not agree because . . .
Redskins was a name created by Native people.
The Redskin name is a source of pride to many different tribes and Native people.
The Redskin is the mascot at a number of predominantly Native American schools.
And the expression Redskin has been given validation by so many natives, including the ones who designed the logo.
As for the resident who obviously feels differently than many of us, this is clearly a very personal matter to her. While I respect that, I am also concerned by how little regard she has at how an unwelcomed change of our mascot could affect us.
Back on October 25th, this same resident posted the following statement in the Rant section of the Bucks County Courier Times, and I quote . . .
“Neshaminy spends $1.5 million on non-educational extracurricular activities that only some kids participate in. It’s time to use those funds for educational programs that all students are entitled to.”
Extracurricular programs are very important to the well-being of our students, providing them with healthy outlets in a world full of unhealthy distractions. Yet, this Neshaminy resident seemingly wants to take those healthy outlets away from our students. Not only does she want to rid this district of its mascot, she apparently wants to eliminate the teams and organizations that proudly use that mascot.
I am sorry that this resident is so strongly upset by the Neshaminy Redskin name, but I just cannot find it in my heart to say that our mascot is a racial insult. Everywhere you look in this district, we honor the strength and pride of the American Indian, and the Redskin is a symbol of our belief.
Did you know that eight (8) of our athletic teams have a Mr. or Ms. Redskin award presented annually to the athletes who best represent such qualities as work ethic, spirit, leadership, and community service? Would this resident have us rid this district of those awards, too?
What about the annual Mr. Redskin talent competition, an event that has raised and donated more than $5,000 over the past 3 years for charitable causes such as UNICEF relief efforts in Japan following that horrible Tsunami? Should we get rid of that, too?
We honor our Redskin heritage with every student who graduates, with every community cause we serve, with every touchdown we score!
The mascot for the Wellpinit School District, located on the Spokane Indian Reservation, in Wellpinit, Washington is “Red Skins.” On their website they ask the question, “What is a Redskin?” They answer with, “Redskin” is a racial descriptor for Native Americans and one of the color metaphors for race used in North American and Europe since European colonization of America.
Our mascot was not a slur or an insult when adopted 85 years ago, and it is not today.
We are proud to be Neshaminy Redskins!
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