By Gabriella Scerbo
Following hundreds of protests condemning racism, the Washington Redskins football team combat discrimination by changing their name.
Much of the Native American experience has been one filled with hatred, violence, and disadvantage throughout U.S. history. The term “redskin” was a way to identify Native Americans from white colonizers in the 19th century. Today, with the derogatory term cheered in crowds, adorned on merchandise, and profited from by the NFL, the discrimination of Native Americans continues to be normalized.
Corporations including Target and Nike have agreed to stop selling Washington Redskin merchandise if the name is not changed; Amazon has already taken to removing the team’s merchandise. Now, the team plans to change the mascot as well as any Native American imagery connected to the sports team.
Although the Washington Redskin name is more than eighty years old, it is better late than never to better the NFL. While the Washington football team may be first team at any national level in sports to change their racist name, they are hopefully not the last. Hopefully more companies will follow suit as the world continues to question the racist implications and origins of symbols in our society.
