It’s time to change the Rebel mascot at Boone County High School

As a teenager at Boone County High School in the 1990s, I proudly wore Lady Rebel across my chest. I did warm-up drills to the Rebel Brigade loudly playing our school fight song before games. I did not associate the “rebel” with the Confederate army. I did not make the connection that the flag that was occasionally included in imagery resembled the Confederate flag.

My parents attended Boone County High School in the 1960s. They relayed the story to me of the mascot originating from the James Dean movie “Rebel without a Cause.” It made sense to me at the time. It no longer does.

The problem is this: The Rebel name and image are associated with racism regardless of what some defenders contend. The Confederacy was established to protect the institution of slavery and out of direct concerns that the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln, would undermine it.

It takes hard work and time to break-down and rebuild systems. We are still rebuilding our nation’s ideas of justice and equality for all, 155 years after Appomattox. In contrast, removing the Rebel name from Boone County High School is a relatively easy, clear step toward correcting racism in our community.

As an adult, I have questioned the history I was taught in school. We were taught that Kentucky was neutral in the Civil War. We were not taught that slavery was present in Northern Kentucky, likely on the very rolling hills that many of us were living. I did not learn about specific slaves, such as Margaret Garner, in Boone County until I was in my thirties. My friend and Northern Kentucky University colleague, historian Dr. Eric Jackson, educated me on the demographic changes in Boone County after the Civil War. In the 1870 and 1880s, African Americans accounted for 20 percent or more of Boone County’s population. By 1900, they accounted for just 5 percent. Many likely left for better economic and social opportunities further north, but they were also likely uneasy in presence of lingering Confederate sympathies.

If you think racism is not a problem in our nation — or in our state or our region — it is because you are not looking. Or maybe it’s because you’re white and you haven’t talked to a black person lately. Racism is ubiquitous, from our schools to our policing to our subtle interactions in stores. I was talking to a friend and colleague about Black men wearing masks and the dangers they face just protecting themselves and others amid COVID-19. Dangers that white people are not thinking about when they put on a mask.

Boone County High School is an incredibly diverse community, 25 percent non-white, which is 10 percent higher than the county overall. It is the most diverse high school in the county and prides itself on the 30-plus flags from different countries that hang in the cafeteria representing the countries of origin of its students. Spencer Zembrodt, a former Boone County High School student, has created a Change.org petition that states, “As alumni, current students, and community members, we demand immediate action to create a new, inclusive identity.”

Let’s give the Boone County High School students – all of them – something of which to be proud.

Bethany Bowling is a resident of Park Hills, KY and biology professor and associate dean at Northern Kentucky University.