How long until Boone County "Rebels" are forced to change their mascot?

[gchs_uk9]

Gutless, to let a bunch of crybaby snowflakes intimidate you into removing history of your school!

 

What are they removing? They're still the Rebels, just changing the mascot. Schools do that all the time.

[rookie57]

Boone County High School started using the rebel mascot in the mid-1950s - right after Brown v. Board of Education decision essentially kicked off the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Some current-day Boone County residents try to explain it away by saying it had to do with the James Dean "Rebel Without A Cause" movie character, but the fact is, the school chose to adopt a mascot that was a pretty clear depiction of a Confederate rebel, and unquestionably not a 1950s greaser like the one played by James Dean in the movie. So, in a time when the absolute hottest topic in the United States was race relations and civil rights, Boone County High School chose to manifest their school spirit with a warrior who fought to keep blacks enslaved by whites. That's a pretty damn straightforward statement if you ask me.

 

As for historical significance, Boone County IS known for its residents who assisted escaped slaves as a last stop before crossing the Ohio River to the free north. When it comes to the "Confederate rebel" history of Boone County, there just really wasn't a whole lot there until some bigoted white folks came along in the mid-1950s and felt inspired to name their school's mascot in honor of racial prejudice.

 

So.....are you saying people are a bunch of crybaby snowflakes for wanting to leave behind racial prejudice that was plainly established in the mid-20th century?

 

I stated my opinion, I AM NOT going to get into a racial debate with you, changing the mascot, tearing down monuments, changes nothing. You can back the decision and that's your right, but I still say it's gutless, and I'm out of the discussion.

[rjs4470]

I stated my opinion, I AM NOT going to get into a racial debate with you, changing the mascot, tearing down monuments, changes nothing. You can back the decision and that's your right, but I still say it's gutless, and I'm out of the discussion.

 

And holding onto, worshipping and holding these vestiges of oppression in high esteem while ignoring the pain and suffering they stood for is somehow better??

[plantmanky]

I guess my biggest thing is why now?

 

For 50 years it was fine, and now its an issue?

[gchs_uk9]

I guess my biggest thing is why now?

 

For 50 years it was fine, and now its an issue?

 

How do you know it wasn't an issue?

[plantmanky]

How do you know it wasn't an issue?

 

Been around 2 schools with Rebels as their mascot my entire life, never been an issue till now.

[gchs_uk9]

Been around 2 schools with Rebels as their mascot my entire life, never been an issue till now.

 

You'll notice schools like Ole Miss and UNLV changed their logo (again, not the mascot) recently. These things tend to trickle down.

 

I'd imagine a couple of people complaining in the past would have changed nothing. But with any protest, there is a groundswell. It takes people to make change. We are living in a time when the seeds of change sown in the past are starting to be reaped. To ask "why no one cared" is to ignore what sounded to many in the past as voices in the wilderness. It was always there, most just had no interest in listening.

[Hatz]

Boone County High School started using the rebel mascot in the mid-1950s - right after Brown v. Board of Education decision essentially kicked off the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Some current-day Boone County residents try to explain it away by saying it had to do with the James Dean "Rebel Without A Cause" movie character, but the fact is, the school chose to adopt a mascot that was a pretty clear depiction of a Confederate rebel, and unquestionably not a 1950s greaser like the one played by James Dean in the movie. So, in a time when the absolute hottest topic in the United States was race relations and civil rights, Boone County High School chose to manifest their school spirit with a warrior who fought to keep blacks enslaved by whites. That's a pretty damn straightforward statement if you ask me.

 

As for historical significance, Boone County IS known for its residents who assisted escaped slaves as a last stop before crossing the Ohio River to the free north. When it comes to the "Confederate rebel" history of Boone County, there just really wasn't a whole lot there until some bigoted white folks came along in the mid-1950s and felt inspired to name their school's mascot in honor of racial prejudice.

 

So.....are you saying people are a bunch of crybaby snowflakes for wanting to leave behind racial prejudice that was plainly established in the mid-20th century?

 

So Boone County was founded in 1954 and the movie "Rebel Without a Cause" came out in 1955. I'm curious what the school's mascot was in the fall before the movie's release was? Was it still Rebels?

 

So I doubt the James Dean thing was really the intent of the mascot.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

So Boone County was founded in 1954 and the movie "Rebel Without a Cause" came out in 1955. I'm curious what the school's mascot was in the fall before the movie's release was? Was it still Rebels?

 

So I doubt the James Dean thing was really the intent of the mascot.

 

They actually had no mention of a mascot, nickname, or team names in their first three yearbooks. They were just Boone County High School, the Boone County Baseball Team, etc.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Been around 2 schools with Rebels as their mascot my entire life, never been an issue till now.

 

Never been an issue?

 

The argument against 'rebels' as mascots came up in NKY in the 80s, specifically about Thomas More College and Boone County High School using them as their mascot. The same "but we don't want to deny our history as a school..." argument was made. Thomas More changed from the TMC Rebels to the TMC Blue Rebels, in an attempt to distance any association with the grey of the Confederacy. Boone County High School did nothing.

 

Then the argument was made again in the 90s. People didn't like Boone County's continued use of the mascot. Some people complained that Thomas More's change to 'blue rebels' had still didn't remove all the stigma. TMC listened and in 1996 they officially adopted a new mascot and became the TMC Saints. Boone County High School did nothing.

 

Then the issue of the Boone County Mascot came up again two years ago when a black graduate from Boone County High School wrote an online article called "I'm black, and I just went to a reunion at my Confederate flag-loving high school." The article brought up a lot of discussion, even on a limited national level after the article was picked up by several newspapers and news stations. Boone County High School did nothing.

 

So....never been an issue?

[MJAlltheWay24]

Then the issue of the Boone County Mascot came up again two years ago when a black graduate from Boone County High School wrote an online article called "I'm black, and I just went to a reunion at my Confederate flag-loving high school." The article brought up a lot of discussion, even on a limited national level after the article was picked up by several newspapers and news stations. Boone County High School did nothing.

 

Also known as a blogger/comedian trying to make it big time so she threw in some extra shock and awe to get more clicks and make herself more relevant.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Also known as a blogger/comedian trying to make it big time so she threw in some extra shock and awe to get more clicks and make herself more relevant.

 

As I understand it, the author does do all of those things, along with being a staff writer and regular columnist for a couple of websites online. Being a blogger and comedian does give some cause to read what she writes with a certain amount of skepticism, but it also doesn't preclude her from being able to write anything that's serious or accurate. The photos in her original article from BCHS yearbooks and newspaper clippings would also certainly seem to support her basic premise.

 

Also, the topic that I think was at the heart of her article is the fact that BCHS cannot claim to be completely unaware of the fact that there ARE people who are offended by their pretty overt tribute to the Confederacy. The issue had been publicly brought up AT LEAST twice before Ms. Hughes wrote her article. The fact is, BCHS decided that they DID love their rebel mascot and its in-avoidable association with the Confederacy to the extent that they completely disregarded any calls to change their mascot....twice. Even now, they still ARE NOT changing the mascot, and are instead opting to change their logo, and they're "retiring" the actual character they used to depict their mascot.

[MJAlltheWay24]

As I understand it, the author does do all of those things, along with being a staff writer and regular columnist for a couple of websites online. Being a blogger and comedian does give some cause to read what she writes with a certain amount of skepticism, but it also doesn't preclude her from being able to write anything that's serious or accurate. The photos in her original article from BCHS yearbooks and newspaper clippings would also certainly seem to support her basic premise.

 

She was searching for attention and clicks and I don't give her much credibility when she drops things like this in her piece:

 

I talked and laughed with some of the people who were likely to have worn Confederate flags to football games or to have used racial slurs with their families at home.

 

Can't say what people were doing in there homes but her classmates sure as hell weren't waving confederate flags at any time during her HS experience and we all know that's true.

 

The former classmates I spoke to didn't seem outwardly racist — maybe they'd grown out of it, or maybe just interacting with me, a black person, was enough to temporarily silence the deep-seated hatred they'd grown up with.

 

Maybe the vast majority of her classmates weren't outwardly racist because they never were to begin with? Seems to be painting a very broad brush over everyone because of an idiot or two. Obviously didn't see all 1600 students every day (she exaggerated there too) but I never once saw a confederate flag in that school.

 

I was in those same hallways, classrooms, and football stands. To act like it was full of people harboring their racist ways is a joke. Maybe it was like that in the past, but she acts like it was like that from 2002 - 2004ish and that's simply not true.

 

I'm white, so maybe I didn't notice some things and maybe she and other black classmates I had did. Guess that would be my white privilege showing through. But I think it's a joke to act like Boone County HS was bubbling with racial tension in the early 2000's.

Edited August 25, 2017 by MJAlltheWay24

[UKMustangFan]

The thing I find most interesting in here is how much non-BCHS alumni and fans seem to care about this.

 

All this stuff we're supposed to be offended by is getting exhausting.

[MJAlltheWay24]

The thing I find most interesting in here is how much non-BCHS alumni and fans seem to care about this.

 

All this stuff we're supposed to be offended by is getting exhausting.

 

I hear ya. As an alumni, I'm not all that worked up about about them removing Mr. Rebel. I don't go to anything related to the school and don't plan to send my kids there, so it's whatever.

 

It's the blog that CWB linked to that irritates me quite a bit. Hard to argue with someone's feelings and opinions on their experience of HS but I sure think she took a ton of liberties with stuff in there to try and make her classmates at the time a bunch of racists. Her section about the history of the school has some value and is accruate. Can't argue with the pictures. But pretending like all that was going on when she as there is a joke and just clickbait to make herself more relevant. That irritates me.