Email: communitybuilder@sendcdc.org
ABOUT EDUCATION & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
We are a group of educators, local business leaders, and residents in South Indy focused on trades education and local job creation and retention. We are looking for opportunities to partner with neighborhood schools, trades training programs, and industry leaders to foster job opportunities for residents in our area. In spring 2017, we launched our community career fair series with a focus on trades education.
OUR PLAN
We envision broader community awareness of available resources that promote family supporting careers.
Hold quarterly education & workforce development events that are related to the needs of South Indy families in partnership with local businesses.
South Indy youth and adults have productive career opportunities with local employers.
Trades programs are widely available and accessible in South Indy.
Promote on the job training.
What is So Bad About “Redskins” Anyways?
By Garfield Park Neighbor, Cynthia Reeser
All the recent fuss over the discontinuance of what was formerly the Washington “Redskins” brings me back to the days when I was deeply involved with team mascot activities myself. This was in a small town in Ohio where I went to high school. And while any fuss there was a lot quieter, of shorter duration, and focused on nothing more than cheering our teams on to victory, all of it…including the mascot…meant a great deal to those of us who called that town home.
By definition, a mascot is an animal, person, or thing representing a specific group or individual. Derived from the French word mascotte, the mascot is charged with delivering good luck. And that is what I tried to do through the various sports seasons my senior year even though I could never master the cartwheel my predecessor had performed so smoothly. As innocent as a mascot appears to be, however, earlier meanings of the word reflect its darker side. Trace it back far enough and you come to masca, meaning “sorcerous” or--put more bluntly--”witch”. And, no, that was not part of my role.
But what if there had been a darker side to our school’s choice of mascot? Would I have taken part just as enthusiastically if what we embraced as a lucky charm other people saw as negative. Even racist or demeaning? Such was the case in Washington where it took pressure from advertisers such as Amazon, Nike, and Fed Ex to finally move the NFL team away from a word fraught with insult to Native Americans. And what about the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves? News reports indicate that changes are afoot in other parts of the country even as they are here in Indianapolis. Our city’s minor league baseball team just announced the formation of a committee to study a possible name change for themselves. And this even though its name, the Indians, is not considered by most experts to be as derogatory as, say, the Redskins.
What is so bad about “redskins” anyway? Early American history records the initial usage of the word as a basic description by skin color and no more (i.e.., white, red, black). But as this country grew and the relationships between European Americans and Native Americans grew more contentious, things deteriorated badly. Most of us are quite familiar with what is meant by the “n-word”. Equally as defamatory among Native Americans, however, is the word redskins, also known as the “r-word.” At its best, redskins still meant people with red skin. At its worst, it referred to the practice of scalping, with records still in existence indicating the high bounty paid for Native American scalps, also called redskins.
So I go back to my earlier question. If my high school had chosen a mascot with such a dark history, would I have thrown my all into playing that role? For that matter, would the families and fans of the cheerleaders, band members, and team players supported the choice themselves? I think not on all counts. No doubt that is the reason why a wide array of schools, since clear back in the 1970s, have retired use of Native American names and mascots. Sadly, Indianapolis’ own Manual High School continues to hold on to the name Redskins. The families and fans of all who supported--and continue to support—that school appear to be stuck with a very dark legacy.
Yes, the Redskins of Manual High School will disappear in three years when the high school itself becomes a part of this city’s history. But my question remains the same—should a mascot with such a dark history, one that defames members of 574 tribes of Native Americans continue to be linked with not only the high school but also its families and fans? Or would it prove an excellent lesson in fairmindedness if the Redskins of Manual High School be retired now as in the case of the Redskins of Washington?