Walpole School Committee to Vote on Mascot Thursday Evening

Walpole, Ma. 6/18/2020

Tonight at 7:30 PM, the Walpole School Committee will vote on whether to move forward with changing the town’s Rebel mascot.

On Tuesday, June 16th, just three days short of the end of the academic year, the school committee held an open community forum to discuss the school’s long-debated Rebel name, a conversation that has occurred in town in many forms over the past several decades.

The urgency for the meeting came as a surge of global protests overshadowed the still-present pandemic and brought millions out to the streets to stand up for the rights and humanity of people of color everywhere. Concurrently, the superintendent issued a statement committing to fight racism in Walpole, and in response, several town groups and students wrote official letters and created petitions related to the mascot asking the school committee to use the momentum of this movement to act.

According to a member of the school committee, “This has been an issue in our community for many years and has been a point of debate for many, many years, but it is one that has risen to the point of community concern that I believe demanded the attention of this body.” The school committee quickly scheduled an open forum for current and former residents of Walpole to voice their opinions and concerns.

While originally 90 members of the community signed up to speak, only 56 stayed in the waiting room of the 3-hour-long zoom meeting to appear before the committee. In spite of strong support around town and on social media for the mascot, only 8 residents went on video record in favor of keeping the Rebel name. 48 students, residents, alumni, teachers, and former coaches spoke in favor of making a clean break from the mascot’s historic Confederate ties.

One student who spoke at the meeting told the school committee, “If you keep the Rebel name, you will keep students who look like me hiding in the shadows, but you will also be telling them that you want them to stay there.”

Another student, a current senior, said that because she is not a student of color, she wanted to use her time to amplify the voice of a black community member. She used her three minutes to read that former student’s quote.

“I am a white, middle class woman, and just like the majority of this town, I will never understand the systemic racism the black community endures in society. Therefore, I believe my three minutes would be best spent speaking as an ally of the black community. Here are the words of a friend of mine, a member of the black community who grew up in Walpole, but she cannot speak today. Begin quote, ‘As a black student in Walpole Public Schools, I personally always felt a disconnect to the school culture because, as you know, Walpole is a predominantly white neighborhood. It’s really disheartening to see the people who want to keep the name are the same people who have Confederate flags in their possession. The name change is just one of many ways the Walpole community can acknowledge their black student body and make them feel like they belong while they already feel out of place. A reminder of hate will always be mentally damaging to the black student body no matter how they may want to spin the meaning.’” The student ended by saying, “There are many voices speaking tonight, but please focus on the voices of the black community.”

One current teacher read an excerpt from a letter submitted by 60 members of the current Walpole teaching staff, “We respectfully request that the Walpole school district permanently and efficiently retire the Walpole Rebel name. According to documents dating back to the 1960’s, there is no doubt that the Walpole Rebels name is closely associated with the Confederacy. Based on documents by the Confederate leaders, we know the Confederacy was established on the belief that white men were superior to black men. We also know the establishment in defense of the Rebel name in Walpole has always corresponded chronologically with resistance to Civil Rights legislation, from the 1960's to today. While we have officially removed the Confederate flag from our logo, private citizens continue to associate the Rebel name with Confederate imagery, through clothing, car adornments, lawn signs, etc. These private behaviors frequently spill into public events like football games and parades. While we know that retiring the Rebel name will not alter the choices of private citizens, we believe it will send the message that our school does not tacitly or explicitly condone the use of the Confederate imagery. For years, students and families of color have told Walpole publicly and privately that the Rebel name is a contributing factor in an environment that leaves them marginalized and under-served. They have reminded us in a recent letter, our country at large is a generally traumatic, unsafe environment for young people of color.

Our students have asked us directly how we hope to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment, when we will not definitively sever our ties with the historical source of the very trauma they deal with every day. If we fail to take this step…we effectively tell them their voices do not matter.”

The same teacher also mentioned that if many people are unsure about moving to or working in Walpole because of the school mascot, Walpole may be missing out on the chance to bring high quality individuals into the town.

The teacher went on to read from the staff group letter, “If the Rebel name gave us pause, how many qualified applicants, particularly applicants of color, did it put off altogether? Are we actually turning away the next Massachusetts teacher of the year, or next Superbowl winning football coach?”

One former student from the class of 2007 stated frankly, “I’m sure I don’t need to explain that Massachusetts was never a part of the Confederacy.”

Another alum from the class of 2012 said that after leaving Walpole, he met people of color in his workplace, “My co-workers explained to me that they didn’t feel safe coming to Walpole to play games. Their families didn’t feel comfortable sitting in the bleachers.”

A beloved former football star in town and student of color, Darley Desamot gave a talk about this topic on the town common earlier in June. At the school committee meeting he said, “When you’re inside the bubble of being in Walpole High, it is a lot different to try and understand why a Rebel name can mean something to you and mean something completely different to others. The name to me, it symbolizes that we’ve been selfish for years. Almost every year there has been a petition for the name to be changed. When I played games in Walpole, and when I shook people’s hands at the end of the game, they would look me in the eyes and ask me, ‘Why are you part of this team?’ Once you leave that bubble, the perception of others is that Walpole is a racist town, and Walpole has the Confederate flag. We know that there are a lot of people within Walpole that aren’t racist, but I feel like the name needs to change.”

A current resident in favor of keeping the Rebel mascot said, “When I first moved here I would never have associated the town or its mascot with the Confederacy in any way, least of all with the misguided beliefs held by the American South during the Civil War. All that we could accomplish by changing who we are is a demonstration of fragility and weakness.”

One of the two former students who started a recent petition to change the name explained why the attempts at re-branding or removing Confederate imagery fall short of protecting the students they impact, “While my high school experience was a good one, that was a privilege afforded to me because of the color of my skin. Many cannot say the same.

I am here today to tell you to listen to black voices.

This is a classic intent vs impact. Though the intentions of many people in this town may not be racist by supporting this name, the continued shutting down of black voices in this conversation is frankly disgusting.

There is no way, not a single way, we can re-brand the name. You cannot re-brand racism, pain, disrespect, and isolation. We started this petition to amplify voices that have been speaking out since this name was first adopted. Debates have been going on for years and we started this petition to have these voices be able to be heard.

The backlash we have received from this petition is likely the reason many have stayed silent in the first place. We are not personally hurt by it nor discouraged, but it’s extraordinarily disappointing that some are more committed to defending a name, one that does not make or break the successes of Walpole sports, or Walpole as a town, over standing up for what is right. One student feeling isolated, disrespected, or hurt by a name should be more than enough to create change.

Over 5,000 and counting — the number of signatures on the petition now — indicate it’s a necessity.

Changing the name is a gesture that will show the community that Walpole is on the path to change, and to create a more inclusive and diverse learning environment, but this is only the beginning. The best time for this change was yesterday, the day before that, and years before that, but the second best time is now.”

A town resident and grandmother, whose children and grandchildren have all been Walpole Rebels, spoke in favor of keeping the name. She said, “We are a country founded and built by rebels. I stand proud to be a Walpole Rebel and hope the school committee stands to understand the importance of having a name that goes well beyond the negative part of our history. However, it is part of our history.”

A current science teacher highlighted the fact that issues with discrimination in the school system go far beyond the mascot or the banned Confederate imagery. She said, “If you were to Google the Walpole Rebels right now, the first image you see is a Confederate flag. We are still seeing students who were born a decade after the fact holding onto the Confederate imagery on cell phone cases, backgrounds, and bumper stickers. Our issues don’t strictly end with Confederate imagery. In class, I shared a story about how I’m part Jewish, and in the days following I found swastikas and Nazi flags drawn in my classroom. I came to find out there were several instances of swastikas in school that year. How can we say that is wrong and yet here we are advertising ties to another flag, name, and imagery that does the same thing to the black community?” She went on to say, “It should be clear that we no longer have any affiliation with any sort of Confederate name or imagery. We are a place for students to learn and grow, not question what their school represents. We don’t want our students to ever have to explain what Rebel means, but they do because when you Google Walpole Rebels, there it is. In the past we did the best we could do by re-branding; now we must do better by changing the name.”

A parent explained why this issue with the mascot may be emblematic of larger troubles in town regarding diversity. She said, “As a Latina woman living and raising two kids that attend Walpole Public Schools, I am asking you to take a stand against racism and change the mascot. I was very happy to read that Walpole public schools will not remain silent in the face of injustice in the superintendent’s letter from June 2nd. By taking actions and removing the racist mascot, and name, Walpole public schools will show the community that we will not remain silent in the face of injustice. But by not changing the name and the mascot, Walpole Public Schools will show the community that as long as you say the right thing, actions are not needed. It is time to acknowledge that the Walpole public schools and community have not been successful at re-branding.” She went on to say, “I ask you to look at the screen and tell me what diversity you see. Is it because people of color are not elected? Or is it because the system has established an environment that is not welcoming to people of color?”

A Walpole parent who spoke in favor of keeping the name said, “Walpole Rebels is just a team name. When the kids put on that uniform, I can guarantee you there’s not one of them that thinks of racism.”

Several former students mentioned that when bringing this topic up years ago, they received what can only be called harassment from their peers. One student even mentioned current hazing that involves turning off the lights and forcing the kids to sing Dixie long after the song was banned.

A parent and member of the group Action Together Walpole gave several practical examples of fundraising and cost mitigation ideas that have already begun, to reassure any members of town who worry that a change will come at a high cost to citizens.

A former student explained that while the word rebel with a lowercase “r” may have a benign meaning to some, the word is too tied up in the context of how it has been used in Walpole to be re-branded.

“Rebel with a capital R is a reminder of a history saturated with casual racism. Of Confederate flags in football stands, of Dixie playing over loudspeakers — it’s also a symbol of a PRESENT saturated with casual racism. Of the flag not being covered up for nearly six years after Mr. Finneran hung it, of a community oftentimes more concerned with its history based on high school football than with its country’s history of racism and white supremacy. Your town pride is not what I take issue with. I take issue with your inability to change one word to create a more inclusive and less anti-black culture in this town. I’m not the sensitive one here. I’m not the one throwing a fit because I’m scared to lose connection to my childhood with the changing of one word. Eliminating the Rebel name is an act of inclusion. In the light of the current political situation in the U.S., as we move forward into the dawning era of racial justice and a more egalitarian U.S., I encourage you as the school committee to align yourselves and Walpole at large with the right side of history, and signal to your students of color that you care about and for them. That they have just as much of a place here as the kids who flew a racist flag just a few short years ago. I would like to end by saying the changing of the Rebel name should not be seen as the end of the work we as a community need to do. I hope to see the wonderful members of this committee and this community make a choice to protect and love their students of color today and in the future. We need a cultural shift in Walpole and that lives hugely in our education system. So please, seek out voices of color and teach what anti-racism looks like."

Another current student who spoke in favor of keeping the Rebel name said, “I believe the urge to change the Rebel name is premature, abrupt, and unnecessary. The Walpole community has been able to create a new community around the beloved Rebel mascot. The rebel name is a symbol that connects all members of our community, regardless of race, gender, age, or any ideas. Everyone in our community, to me, is a Rebel.”

A current educational sports professional and former student from the class of 2015 said, “To suggest that the Confederacy, the people who fought against the very nation we live in today, to preserve the right to own slaves, and lost, represents any (American) principles, it is by no stretch of the imagination a falsehood. If black lives matter to us so much, we need to start demonstrating behavior to them that shows that they do. This begins with the removal of the Rebel name.”

A former student who graduated in 2009 stated, “That name that once filled me with so much pride now fills me with shame and embarrassment. I can empathize with the people that defend the Rebels as Walpole’s mascot, but it can no longer be ignored what the Rebels and by extension the Confederate flag represent, which is slavery, segregation, hatred, violence, and racism. These are not values that represent this great town. The time for half-measures is over. The only way to end our association with the Confederate flag once and for all is to retire the Rebels. The choice facing Walpole right now is either to be anti-racist and draw a clean break from our checkered past, or maintain the status quo and perpetuate systemic racism.”

A former student who graduated in 2012 used part of her three minutes to apologize to any students she went to school with or who attended Walpole Public Schools who may have felt marginalized growing up in Walpole, “To all the students who had to walk past that flag every day, on their way to practice, and felt unwelcome or offended by it, I would like to apologize on behalf of our town. We should have done more. We want to do more, now, for you. Right now is a trying time for all of us. A lot of people have lost educational resources, jobs, stability, and many of us have lost loved ones. Yet despite these hardships, Walpole has still displayed unity. Running errands and making meals for our neighbors, helping each other, cheering on the seniors for a drive-by graduation, Walpole is a town that has proven time and time again that we can come together. I believe that this time it will be no different.”