By William C. Singleton III
More than 175 Vestavia Hills residents, parents, students and alumni of the city’s high school attended a board of education work session July 8 to voice their opinions on whether the high school should dump the Rebel mascot.
Those who favor ditching the mascot say it’s racially insensitive and reflects negatively on Vestavia Hills.
“All the excellent things we do should not be overshadowed by symbolism,” said Kira Fonteneau, a Vestavia Hills resident and parent. “Changing the mascot makes us look like the wonderful community that we are.”
Others say the mascot is a source of school pride and community spirit that has outlasted past attachments to racial injustice.
“What some believe to be a symbol of oppression, hatred and racism has been transformed by the students of Vestavia Hills into a symbol of academic merit, unwavering school spirit, success in sports, philanthropy and togetherness,” said Palmer Mordecai, a recent Vestavia Hills High School graduate.
Those who spoke in favor of the Rebel mascot included two black students at the high school, the school’s first black Rebel Man, former high school principal Cas McWaters and State Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia. Those who urged the board to change the mascot included a former student, a member of the city’s chamber of commerce and two professors at the University of Montevallo, who are also Vestavia Hills residents.
Those who spoke for the Rebel mascot asked the superintendent and school board to let students at the high school vote whether to keep or change the mascot. Vestavia resident and former parks and recreation board member Steve Bendall said the high school student body is in a better position to judge the issue because it’s their mascot.
“Show these students the respect they deserve and let them make the vote,” he said.
Others said the decision was too big for students to decide alone.
“This is a decision for the board of education. It is the high school of these students who are there now, but it’s also my kid’s high school,” said Vestavia Hills parent Susan Crow. “And it’s going to be the high school for kids for years and years to come.”
The Rebel mascot in question resembles a Southern gentleman dressed in a Civil War uniform. Others see it as a representation of a Southern plantation owner.
The Confederate battle flag and other symbols connected to the Confederacy and the old South have come under increased scrutiny and criticism following the June 17 fatal shooting of nine black people attending Wednesday night services at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The gunman, Dylann Roof, who is white, had been pictured with the Confederate battle flag and confessed, according to one witness, that his intent was to kill black people.
Because of controversy stemming from from Roof’s identification with the Confederate flag, Alabama and other states have removed the battle flag from state grounds as a way to promote unity and racial healing.
The group Vestavia Mascot for All has called on the city school board to get rid of the Rebel mascot and adopt a symbol “that represents everyone.”
Vestavia Hills School Superintendent Sheila Phillips reminded the audience that the controversy over the Rebel symbol is not a new one for the city school system.
“The media threw us into a spotlight following the terrible and senseless tragedy in our country,” she said at the start of the work session. “But concerns about the perception of our symbols and names, particularly our mascot, the Rebel Man, have been regularly shared with us by numerous individual citizens and groups with whom our paths may cross.”
Phillips said she plans to make a recommendation to the board by the end of July. The board’s next regular meeting is July 29.
McWaters said in 1999 when he was high school assistant principal, he asked the person who was then principal if he could modify the school’s “Rebel” flag logo.
“It was a very easy change, because if you just took away the stars on the Rebel flag, it changed into the state of Alabama flag,” he said.
McWaters admitted that the school system “didn’t do the right thing allowing (the flag) to be displayed for so long.”
When he became principal in 2006, McWaters said, he began offering students a new school flag in exchange for their Confederate flags. He said many students and teachers see the Rebel mascot in a different light than a symbol of racism.
“Being a Rebel means doing your best, giving your all, loving VHHS, always having the edge, striving every day to be a champion and doing your best to uphold the greatness the school has always stood for,” he said, reading from a past school yearbook.
McWaters said he thought abandoning the Rebel name would “destroy our students’ sense of community.”
Steven Craft, a professor and dean of the business school at the University of Montevallo, said changing the mascot could help attract more businesses to Vestavia Hills. He cited a local poll which indicated that 60 percent of Birmingham’s business leaders feel that Confederate symbols hurt the region’s efforts to attract new businesses.
“Our own governor identified economic development as one of the reasons for removing Confederate symbols from the state capitol,” he reminded the audience.
Lance Webster asked the board to consider the cost of changing the mascot, a figure he estimated would be more than $200,000.
“We’re talking about cheerleader uniforms, skirts, warm-up jackets, body suits, practice shirts, signs that cheerleaders use,” he said. “We’ve got signage around the field and promotional items we sell, uniforms, coaches’ attire, and that doesn’t include the big Rebel in the end zone and Rebel Man on the basketball court.”
The packed auditorium at the board’s central office had a capacity for 177 people. Others who couldn’t get into the auditorium formed a line outside the school board building. Many supporters wore shirts saying “Once a Rebel, Always a Rebel,” and others wore paper buttons reading “A Mascot for Everyone.”
While most seem to be either for or against retaining the Rebel symbol, Marcella Shepherd, a Vestavia resident and alumni of the high school, offered a compromise.
“I think we should remain the Rebels and change the mascot, or not even have a mascot,” she said. “I just hate to see this whole community divided over political correctness.”
