(Walks to the front of the class, stands straight)
The crowd is hype. Everyone is excited and cheering. Adrenaline levels are high, with 30 more seconds left in the game. You hear the cheerleaders cheer, the coaches yelling, and the fans chanting. Ten more seconds to go…. Five… Three… Two… One. The Washington Redskins won and everybody is happy, except those associated with the loosing team, except you. Why aren’t you as happy and excited as everyone else? Maybe it’s because you can’t help but to feel upset seeing your heritage being mocked, even if unintentionally and nobody caring about your feelings, only their personal entertainment. This is how 16 year-old Dahkota Brown felt about the Washington Redskins football team. “(it’s just) plain racist,” he said, and personally I agree.
(Briefly looks at the audience) (change slideshow)
16 year-old Dahkota Brown is from the small foothills in Jackson, California. He is an activist at the forefront of a national social movement. He says the Redskins logo reinforces negative and wrong Native American stereotypes, comparing it to other well-known symbols of hate. The owner of the Washington Redskins, Daniel Synder, refuses to change the team name, saying he believes it’s not offensive. Brown responded in an article arguing the name is an ugly reminder of the history of Native Americans. “When Rosa Parks took her famous stand on the bus, that same bus would’ve driven past me, because Native Americans were still not allowed on public transportation at that time,” he said. Daniel Synder needs to take in consideration of others and change the name. Even though he didn’t mean to offend, he knows it does and not doing anything about it makes the situation even more offensive.
(change slideshow)
Native American references are used a lot in sports. Another NFL team, other than the Redskins, is Kansas City Chiefs. In 1963 The Kansas City Chiefs adopted the name referring to Native Americans. While continuing on with Native American image, in 1989 the Chiefs switched from Warpaint, a Pinto horse ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to K.C. Wolf. Warpaint later returned in 2009 but was then ridden by a cheerleader. In October of 2013, fans were photographed at a game doing the tomahawk chop while wearing warpaint and feathers. There were numerous complaints from Native Americans who called the images “mockery” and “racist”. In early August 2014, there was word that the team’s management was planning discussion with some Native American groups to find a non-confronting way to eliminate, or at least lessen, offensive behavior. Unlike the Washington Redskins, however, the Kansas City Chiefs are at least trying to make an effort in fixing the problem. Unfortunately some people believe that trying to make an effort isn’t enough, and instead of compromising try to get rid of the situation completely.
(change slideshow)
My last example moves away from the NFL and into the MLB. Before becoming a professional team the Cleveland Indians started as The Cleveland Forests Citys baseball team in 1870. After going into the Nation League, The Cleveland Forests Citys became The Cleveland Bluebirds- a.k.a “Cleveland Blues”- in 1882. In 1903 the team was once again renamed and this time being called the Cleveland Naps. Later, the Cleveland Spiders, and then finally in 1915 The team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. Legend has it that the named was assumed to honor the Native America player Louis Sockalexis who played from 1887-99. That legend is believed to be untrue, but regardless of that, it is a fact that the Cleveland Indians are no stranger to the name-changing game. Their current name seems to be permanent, along with their logo “Chief Wahoo”. Chief Wahoo is simply a caricature of a Native American face. There was some consideration in 1993 about changing this logo, but here it remains. Why? Like every other sports team I have mentioned, it was never originally meant to come off as offensive. Chief Wahoo is a popular symbol, that fans like and most Native Americans support. Understanding the side of those who choose to name teams after ethnic groups, its all about motive. In deciding the name, these team were named to dedicated or honor those named after it. With renaming teams and changing logo, the fans also see you differently. They don't see the team they have grown up watching and supporting based upon a type of relationship. They see a team that doesn't care about the majority of their dedicated fans, but of the minority of people that most likely don't even watch the games but heard of the team named after or portraying an ethnicity they affiliate with and now demand a change.
Naming teams after ethnic groups, especially when using the derogatory term for that ethnic group, should stop period. Derogatory terms being terms that endorsed or are formed from any negative racial stereotype for any ethnic group. Honestly, we should all be more aware of the slang we use, the stereotypes we form, and we should all take in consideration of the feelings of others. Honoring positive people, places, and/or events are acceptable and highly recommenced when it comes to team naming. And if there should be reasonable cause for a name change that it should not be solely based upon individual beliefs but motive and relationship should also be considered.
The crowd is hype. Everyone is excited and cheering. Adrenaline levels are high, with 30 more seconds left in the game. You hear the cheerleaders cheer, the coaches yelling, and the fans chanting. Ten more seconds to go…. Five… Three… Two… One. The Washington Redskins won and everybody is happy, except those associated with the loosing team, except you. Why aren’t you as happy and excited as everyone else? Maybe it’s because you can’t help but to feel upset seeing your heritage being mocked, even if unintentionally and nobody caring about your feelings, only their personal entertainment. This is how 16 year-old Dahkota Brown felt about the Washington Redskins football team. “(it’s just) plain racist,” he said, and personally I agree.
(Briefly looks at the audience) (change slideshow)
16 year-old Dahkota Brown is from the small foothills in Jackson, California. He is an activist at the forefront of a national social movement. He says the Redskins logo reinforces negative and wrong Native American stereotypes, comparing it to other well-known symbols of hate. The owner of the Washington Redskins, Daniel Synder, refuses to change the team name, saying he believes it’s not offensive. Brown responded in an article arguing the name is an ugly reminder of the history of Native Americans. “When Rosa Parks took her famous stand on the bus, that same bus would’ve driven past me, because Native Americans were still not allowed on public transportation at that time,” he said. Daniel Synder needs to take in consideration of others and change the name. Even though he didn’t mean to offend, he knows it does and not doing anything about it makes the situation even more offensive.
(change slideshow)
Native American references are used a lot in sports. Another NFL team, other than the Redskins, is Kansas City Chiefs. In 1963 The Kansas City Chiefs adopted the name referring to Native Americans. While continuing on with Native American image, in 1989 the Chiefs switched from Warpaint, a Pinto horse ridden by a man in a feathered headdress, to K.C. Wolf. Warpaint later returned in 2009 but was then ridden by a cheerleader. In October of 2013, fans were photographed at a game doing the tomahawk chop while wearing warpaint and feathers. There were numerous complaints from Native Americans who called the images “mockery” and “racist”. In early August 2014, there was word that the team’s management was planning discussion with some Native American groups to find a non-confronting way to eliminate, or at least lessen, offensive behavior. Unlike the Washington Redskins, however, the Kansas City Chiefs are at least trying to make an effort in fixing the problem. Unfortunately some people believe that trying to make an effort isn’t enough, and instead of compromising try to get rid of the situation completely.
(change slideshow)
My last example moves away from the NFL and into the MLB. Before becoming a professional team the Cleveland Indians started as The Cleveland Forests Citys baseball team in 1870. After going into the Nation League, The Cleveland Forests Citys became The Cleveland Bluebirds- a.k.a “Cleveland Blues”- in 1882. In 1903 the team was once again renamed and this time being called the Cleveland Naps. Later, the Cleveland Spiders, and then finally in 1915 The team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. Legend has it that the named was assumed to honor the Native America player Louis Sockalexis who played from 1887-99. That legend is believed to be untrue, but regardless of that, it is a fact that the Cleveland Indians are no stranger to the name-changing game. Their current name seems to be permanent, along with their logo “Chief Wahoo”. Chief Wahoo is simply a caricature of a Native American face. There was some consideration in 1993 about changing this logo, but here it remains. Why? Like every other sports team I have mentioned, it was never originally meant to come off as offensive. Chief Wahoo is a popular symbol, that fans like and most Native Americans support. Understanding the side of those who choose to name teams after ethnic groups, its all about motive. In deciding the name, these team were named to dedicated or honor those named after it. With renaming teams and changing logo, the fans also see you differently. They don't see the team they have grown up watching and supporting based upon a type of relationship. They see a team that doesn't care about the majority of their dedicated fans, but of the minority of people that most likely don't even watch the games but heard of the team named after or portraying an ethnicity they affiliate with and now demand a change.
Naming teams after ethnic groups, especially when using the derogatory term for that ethnic group, should stop period. Derogatory terms being terms that endorsed or are formed from any negative racial stereotype for any ethnic group. Honestly, we should all be more aware of the slang we use, the stereotypes we form, and we should all take in consideration of the feelings of others. Honoring positive people, places, and/or events are acceptable and highly recommenced when it comes to team naming. And if there should be reasonable cause for a name change that it should not be solely based upon individual beliefs but motive and relationship should also be considered.
visual_for_persuasive_speech.pptx |