Plantation Owner Mascot? Not the greatest of ideas.
After reading up on Haley Barbour‘s interesting memory of his time at the University of Mississippi it just so happened that I ran across this lovely article.
OXFORD, Miss. — When Levi West walks across campus on game day, admirers sprint to take his photograph. Women coo. Men slap him high-fives. The jovial, 25-year-old senior at the University of Mississippi is not a celebrity in his own right, though.
He owes his star power to his get-up — a knockoff of the university’s longtime mascot, a caricature of an antebellum Southern plantation owner.
“There’s no more of a noble cause than continuing the tradition of Colonel Reb,” said Mr. West, standing in the baking Mississippi heat in a giant stuffed mask and foam shoes. “Everyone loves the guy.”
Well, not quite everyone. After many years of complaints about the racial insensitivity of having a man dressed as a Confederate soldier as the symbol of a university where 14 percent of students are black, Ole Miss is pulling the plug on Colonel Reb this football season.
It seems that there’s a petition that has over 2000 signatures begging for the the Plantation Owner dude to continue to be the mascot. Why wouldn’t they want to alienate most of the black population– I mean, lose all that team spirit.
Note: I’m fully aware that 95 percent of the people who are pro-plantation dude mascot aren’t racist/bigoted. The issue is again, perspective. Some of the merchandise has this image emblazoned on confederate flags. This isn’t always the most joyous symbols for some of us. Either a lack of understanding of the interaction with this imagery and Negroes or simply a lack giving a rats ass seems to be the issue. The school has already said they are NOT going back the old mascot but thats pissing off a lot of folks. Always nice when the masses say “Eff all that historical context nonsense.”
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Elon James White
Managing Director at This Week in Blackness
Elon James White is a writer, humorist, founder and current Managing Director of This Week in Blackness, White is a contributing editor at The Root and his work has been featured on MSNBC, Colorlines, Newsone, VH1 and more.
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I say they should keep the mascot–as long as they promise to point him out during college tours, so people with respect can avoid that place. That’s 2000 too many.
Elon, I believe the Colonel Reb issue is a relatively minor one for African Americans at the university. the university reported that the number of African American students increased by 11.8% to 2,778. This figure is from last year. If the mascot issue was such a big deal to people, why are minorities still applying to and enrolling in the university?
Because these students are interested in getting an education, not the perceived symbolism of a mascot.
I don’t think the school should be boycotted or people should pick up picket signs or anything like that. What I do think is that this is just yet another example of not simply ignoring historical context but actively fighting over something once people explain issues with it, It’s comical. It’s just another example of post-racial America.
Sure, cheer and do the wave, the guy who is dressed like the man who beat your great granddad is strutting through the stadium!
Times change, the school needs to change with it, and people who want to hang on to those times should start wondering what it is they really want to keep.
THis is funny, because if you see what James Meredith has been up to lately, walking around Mississippi, wearing a white suit, with his beard and hair just so … http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbcworldservice/2885287453/in/photostream/