by Ali Amini, D’Laun Burrell, Devin Medina, Andre Nguyen, and Zion Zhou
In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump said, “The Washington ‘Whatever’s should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” (@realDonaldTrump). The organization changed its name from the Redskins to the Washington Football Team in 2020, and later to the Washington Commanders in 2022. In the MLB, the organization known as the Cleveland Indians also changed its name around the same time in 2021, rebranding to the Cleveland Guardians. These changes left many fans divided on whether or not they should change them back to the original names.
Back in 2020, the Washington Commanders, formerly known as the “Washington Redskins,” rebranded their team after receiving backlash from multiple social media platforms. At the time, the events of George Floyd had sparked racial justice protests nationwide, which caused the name “Redskins” to be considered offensive towards Native Americans. This led to a group of investors worth $680 billion writing letters to major sponsors of the team, such as Nike, FedEx, and PepsiCo, to push the name change to the owners. Interestingly, the change wasn’t enacted until funding was withdrawn.
Anthony Samois, a sophomore lineman and a student of the Ethnic Studies Social Justice (ESSJ) academy, explains the meaning of a logo to him. He describes that logos do have a cultural impact on schools and football teams. Samois said “I feel like how we play as a team is how we represent the team that we play for. We represent the school that we play for. We represent our family name that we hold on our backs.”
From the teacher’s perspective, Mr. Kurup, the Director of Speech and Debate and former ESSJ English teacher, also explains the meaning behind a logo and its identity to him. He said, “I think logos, mascots, and names are important to culture because they represent a shared community, or in a way, identity, that people can rally behind. Many times they serve as symbols that represent our collective values and history.” Speech & Debate as a community also serves as an activity for students to express themselves and provides a platform for them to speak.
Additionally, Jasmyn Billy, Senior at James Logan and has been a part of the Ethnic Studies Social Justice academy for 3 years. Jasmyn responded about what a logo means to her and said, “It represents the history and everything that happened. In order to get to the logo within itself, I think it holds story and it holds passion and background that I feel like shouldn’t be touched.”
At its core, the logo or mascot is a part of a team’s identity. It is built on the students, the alumni, and the shared history that brings them together. “While many people don’t know or understand the history,” Mr. Kurup said, “it’s a reminder to learn our history, especially of our local communities.”
