We wrote to Arlington County and so did other citizens. They heard us. They passed the following resolution today:
May 19, 2015 – Arlington County Board
http://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/arlington-county-board-requests-redskins-name-change/
Resolution Commending the Washington NFL Football Team and Requesting a Name Change
WHEREAS, the Arlington County Board finds that for more than 80 years, the Washington Redskins football team has brought great pride and joy to the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, serving as an important symbolic and tangible representation of the values, achievement and unity of our region; and
WHEREAS, recent news reports suggest that the team may be seeking a new home, and is considering Virginia and such a move would be met with near-universal acclaim throughout Virginia, uniting a Commonwealth and its residents of all incomes and races, north and south, urban and rural, young and old, conservative and progressive; and
WHEREAS, the word “redskins” is objectionable to many Americans, Virginians and Arlingtonians who consider it to be a racist slur and derogatory, as demonstrated by the 1983 edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language Second Edition Unabridged which defines “redskin” to mean: “Slang (often disparaging and offensive), A North American Indian; and
WHEREAS, by Resolution 43-01 adopted on January 9, 2002, by the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments found that “the term ‘Redskins’ is viewed by many sensitive and progressive-minded individuals as a demeaning and dehumanizing racist insult that embodies a history of degradation and slaughter;” and
WHEREAS, many sports teams – at the professional, collegiate and high school levels – have changed names that reference Native Americans in this derogatory manner; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, prominent Americans and organizations, including President Obama, the Anti-Defamation League, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, the Council of the District of Columbia and many more, have urged changing the name because it is not a neutral term regardless of present day intent, and
WHEREAS, the “rebranding” of Washington’s professional football team need not result in economic loss, as evidenced by the successful rebranding in 1995 of Washington’s professional basketball team, when the team’s owner changed the team’s name from “Bullets” to “Wizards” because the name was associated with violence; and
WHEREAS, the current name offends many people, serves to divide us, diminishes our humanity, and when we do not stand up against it, can erode our integrity.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Arlington County Board commends the Washington NFL football team for their outstanding contribution to the Greater Washington metropolitan region and requests the team’s owners to change the name and be welcomed into our Commonwealth with a fresh start and a brand new name.
May 19, 2015 – Arlington County Board
http://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/arlington-county-board-requests-redskins-name-change/
Resolution Commending the Washington NFL Football Team and Requesting a Name Change
WHEREAS, the Arlington County Board finds that for more than 80 years, the Washington Redskins football team has brought great pride and joy to the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, serving as an important symbolic and tangible representation of the values, achievement and unity of our region; and
WHEREAS, recent news reports suggest that the team may be seeking a new home, and is considering Virginia and such a move would be met with near-universal acclaim throughout Virginia, uniting a Commonwealth and its residents of all incomes and races, north and south, urban and rural, young and old, conservative and progressive; and
WHEREAS, the word “redskins” is objectionable to many Americans, Virginians and Arlingtonians who consider it to be a racist slur and derogatory, as demonstrated by the 1983 edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language Second Edition Unabridged which defines “redskin” to mean: “Slang (often disparaging and offensive), A North American Indian; and
WHEREAS, by Resolution 43-01 adopted on January 9, 2002, by the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments found that “the term ‘Redskins’ is viewed by many sensitive and progressive-minded individuals as a demeaning and dehumanizing racist insult that embodies a history of degradation and slaughter;” and
WHEREAS, many sports teams – at the professional, collegiate and high school levels – have changed names that reference Native Americans in this derogatory manner; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, prominent Americans and organizations, including President Obama, the Anti-Defamation League, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, the Council of the District of Columbia and many more, have urged changing the name because it is not a neutral term regardless of present day intent, and
WHEREAS, the “rebranding” of Washington’s professional football team need not result in economic loss, as evidenced by the successful rebranding in 1995 of Washington’s professional basketball team, when the team’s owner changed the team’s name from “Bullets” to “Wizards” because the name was associated with violence; and
WHEREAS, the current name offends many people, serves to divide us, diminishes our humanity, and when we do not stand up against it, can erode our integrity.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Arlington County Board commends the Washington NFL football team for their outstanding contribution to the Greater Washington metropolitan region and requests the team’s owners to change the name and be welcomed into our Commonwealth with a fresh start and a brand new name.
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