By BOB DICKINSON, founder and president of Dickinson Partners Group and STEAM Sports Foundation.
Last summer the film “Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting” won the top award at the Morehouse Human Rights Film Festival. The film also won a host of other accolades at festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is an extraordinary documentation of racism dressed up as entertainment.
“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles of racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.”
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait, 1963
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized the plight of the Native American – the original American. He recognized that America’s literature, films, drama and folklore actually lauded it. He saw it firsthand when a major league baseball team called the Braves moved into his backyard.
The Atlanta Braves have an easily-solvable problem. No, it’s not that they have lost key players like Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson recently. Or that they don’t have a stockpile of talent signed for the long term. It’s that their name maligns and denigrates a people that took care of Georgia lands long before Europeans moved in, forcefully took over — often brutally — and shipped them Westward, beginning the “Trail of Tears.”
But for every problem, there is a solution. The solution is simple. Rebrand as the “Atlanta Brave.” To some, dropping the “s” seems far too easy, not enough of a change and really not much of a difference. But think about what it signifies.
Atlanta is recognized worldwide as the cradle of the civil rights movement and has historically been called the “City Too Busy to Hate.” It has a citizenry and affiliation with individuals who have shown incredible courage and bravery to fight against the forces of bigotry and prejudice in an effort to create a level playing field for all. They not only impacted the City of Atlanta but in many cases, the world.
We all know the names. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Ralph David Abernathy, John Lewis, Andrew Young, C.T. Vivian, Joseph Lowrey, Julian Bond, Vernon Jordan, Hosea Williams, and Xernona Clayton were among those brave leaders. Other businessmen, politicians and journalists played courageous roles as well – Herman Russell, Ivan Allen, Jimmy Carter, Ralph McGill, Billy Payne, Alana Shepherd and a host of others, entrenching Atlanta as a city brave enough to take on nearly anything from an Olympics to the world’s most vibrant airport and transportation hub to a city now known for its Black entrepreneurialism. A city that cared.
The Brave would certainly emulate the Beloved Community about which Dr. King spoke and dreamed.
For many Braves diehards, a name and mascot change are non-starters. It was for fans in Washington and Cleveland, too. But this is different, and it’s different for one simple reason. The Atlanta Brave would not have to end its relationship with Native Americans – because many of that indigenous group have demonstrated great courage and bravery as well. A name/mascot change would provide the opportunity to salute Native Americans for their contributions and not portray them via chanting chops, face paint, headdresses and a tomahawk draped across the front of the team’s jersey.
For those who still don’t think that’s a big deal, here’s a parallel. Imagine the team’s name and mascot was not Braves but Slaves. Instead of a tomahawk across the jersey, it was a spear. Fans would wear blackface makeup and during rally time chant and move their arms to “unga-bunga, unga-bunga.” What do you think the reaction would be? Virtually everyone would see the racism. Many see it now. Those of Jewish descent have characterized the chop as equivalent to The Third Reich’s “Heil Hitler.”
Why is it so hard to see that if those who are being maligned and denigrated feel that it’s racist, then it’s racist? As long-time Native American activist Suzan Harjo states in the film: “Racism is racism.” And even Christ reminds us that “if you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.”
Some will shout “Woke!” Tell me what is woke about bravery exhibited by our military personnel, first responders, healthcare workers and those simply stepping into extraordinary situations or harm to help someone. The brave!
Why then does the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — who incidentally have no federal tribal sovereignty in Georgia — not object? The Braves have claimed the only way it would change their name would be if the Native American community asked them to do so. But the EBCI has put a very profitable business arrangement together with the Braves where the team serves as one of the primary promoters of its casino, pushing thousands of fans toward its cash cow each year. And then there are the tickets to Braves games where EBCI leaders entertain clients and other potential business prospects. It works, even if they have to hold their noses sometimes.
But under the scenario presented, that business arrangement does not have to end. The Native American community is a brave one as well. By turning the glass a half turn, it can be depicted as great contributors to American history and not savages waging war against those taking their land and murdering wives and children.
But old traditions die slowly. For nearly a century and a half, parts of society continued to cherish and fly the Confederate flag, rationalizing that it was a way to honor fallen “heroes” who tried to preserve slavery. Thankfully, reason, compassion, and anti-racism prevailed.
That same mindset is needed here.
Native Americans are not mascots. Such use is culturally and racially degrading. Native Americans wish to be part of community solutions rather than be denigrated for their false history. Atlanta, throughout its history, has shown extraordinary bravery by many of its citizens. Such bravery has been demonstrated by our indigenous citizens as well. While the moniker Atlanta Braves depicts savagery and a racial stereotype, the Atlanta Brave would embrace contributions and bravery exhibited by all racial communities that have made Atlanta the great city it has become. A simple and elegant solution.
Let’s make Atlanta the Home of the Brave.
The King Center will show “Imagining the Indian” on April 13 at a no-cost screening open to the public, beginning at 6:30 p.m. A commercial run will begin April 14 at the Landmark Midtown.
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