Several thousand people rallied in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday to protest the use of the name "Redskins" by the NFL team from Washington, DC.
(It's a busy time & I thought someone else might have written a diary about this, but since I haven't yet seen one thought I'd quickly put this out.)
WaPo:
At what was hailed by organizers as the largest-ever protest of the Washington Redskins’ name, a group of Native Americans stood outside the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium in a plaza built as a tribute to 11 of the state’s tribes.
....
University of Minnesota police put the estimated crowd at 3,500 to 4,000. Organizers estimated it at 5,000.
That's an impressive rally, and provides momentum to the movement to change the name!
Video and photos here and here.
Indian Country Today Media Network writes that
In anticipation of a protest planned by diverse groups against the Washington NFL team's name this weekend, the Native-owned advertising agency Red Circle and the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media have made a powerful new commercial called "No Honor in Racism."
Former Viking Joey Browner spoke:
“We’re not mascots!” said former Vikings strong safety Joey Browner, one of 29 speakers who took the microphone on a lawn just steps from the stadium entrances.
Browner, who is part Native American, wore a black Vikings cap with a feather sticking up out of it.
“As a former player I feel really sad right now. … This is still standing in front of us,” said Browner, a six-time Pro Bowl pick, who called the nickname a “bullying tactic.”
Wow, 29 speakers, that's some excellent organizing going on.
OK, gotta run, but let me say that while Dan Snyder and his supports are currently holding onto their reactionary position, with so many good people helping to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, I have no doubt history is not going to be on Snyder and co.'s side.
postscript: just saw this statement by Jon Stewart about his show's recent experiences dealing with the issue:
"I’ll tell you where there was a real ambush—when the Native Americans went to the stadium and people said the most vile shit to them," Stewart said. "The ugliness that arose was mind-numbing. So for the story to be these poor people, the Redskins fans, who sat in a room and had to then talk to the Native Americans … I don’t understand the weird defensiveness. We all live in a country built on this very devastating scenario with the people who were already living here. That’s our original Manifest Destiny sin. In some ways, by accepting the flaws, the progress that we’ve made is more impressive."