Will South Kingstown High School Change Its Rebel Mascot?

Will South Kingstown High School Change Its Rebel Mascot?

As schools across the country with "Rebel" mascots are considering renaming them, based on the Confederate flag connotation -- which has come under scrutiny after the racially motivated Charleston, South Carolina murders -- will South Kingstown High School maintain its "Rebel" mascot? 

Harry Reid has called on Nevada's Board of Regents to look at renaming the UNLV Rebels, according to AP reports.  USA Today's Cam Smith reported Monday on several high schools around the country making the change, including Southside High School in Arkansas.

"It's too premature to say, we just had our meeting in June," said South Kingstown School Committee Chair Raissa Mosher.  "We'll have a committee retreat in July. If it's something that should come up, it's definitely something we would talk about. Our next meeting is in August."

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South Kingstown, whose Rebel mascot is listed simply as the letter "S" with "Rebels" underneath -- North Kingstown's mascot is the "Skipper" -- will have new leadership in the fall.

"The principal just moved to Rome, so we'll have a new principal in the coming school year," said Mosher.  

"If an issue is on people's minds, especially in South Kingstown -- they're not hesitant to email or call us," continued Mosher. "So far, I haven't heard anything, so we'll see if we hear from people on the issue."

Broader Look at Mascots?

"I'm not familiar with the "Rebel", so you don't want to cry racism," said NAACP Providence Branch President Jim Vincent.  "I'm much more in concert with changing the name "Redskin" and "Indians."

Vincent noted that during his time at Dartmouth College, the Ivy League institution changed its former "Indian" mascot to the "Big Green" in the 1970s. 

"The college was founded for Native Americans, and up until the [1970s], they had a drunk white guy in paint hooting and hollering with his face painted at football games," said Vincent. "While I was there, when President Kemeny came in [in 1970], a bunch of students went to him and said it was offensive, and got it changed."

Vincent noted he saw more pressing issues of race to be talked about in Rhode Island.

"The "Rebels" aren't as blatant as the Cleveland Indians, but I'm wiling to learn more, talk about it more it," said Vincent.  "We just saw racist flyers distributed in East Greenwich, with the line "White Lives Matter," with tactics that looked just like the Ku Klux Klan.  We've got very real, very pressing issues of racism to deal with here in Rhode Island right now."

Vincent noted the interfaith vigil held on Sunday in Providence for the victims of Charleston, South Carolina's church shooting drew supporters in the hundreds. 

"We got the word out with week's notice, and when you do that, you hope for 50 people to show up," said Vincent.  "We had well over 400.