I am a native Washingtonian and I have loved my football team since the Sonny Jorgensen era.
It is well past the time for a new branding of Washington’s football team.
The present name as the Redskins is not a celebrated name of Native American history.
Its connotation and birth like any other moniker assigned to an ethnic group were created
From a negative and belittling image whether we were: Afro-American, Native American,
Asian, Hispanic Irish, Jewish etc. We have all dealt with some history of spiteful name-calling.
As the owner of Washington’s football team George Preston Marshall was clear on his position
of letting Blacks play on his team. The Washington Redskins were the last team to try-out Black Americans
and Bobby Mitchell you could say was Washington’s version of Jackie Robinson.
From 1934 to 1945 there were no Black Americans in the NFL. While prior to this history in the NFL
between 1927 to 1933 there are at least three notable minority’s represented in the NFL : Walter Achiu
a running back of Chinese-Hawaiian ancestry , Arthur Matsu a quarterback of Japanese-Scottish ancestry,
and Jim Thrope a Native American, a College All-American Athlete in several sports and an Olympian
athlete.
I suggest a rebranding that reflects Washington D.C. as the Nation’s Capitol; The set of our Government.
The Nation’s Capitol with all its honored memorials: The Lincoln, The Jefferson,
The Viet Nam and Korean War Memorial Walls, The WWII Memorial The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
The Smithsonian, The Monument, Arlington Cemetery, The Old Soldiers Home etc.
New Names Suggestion
I suggest a team name reflecting our honored history of freedom and democracy:
(1) The Washington Monuments, (2) The Washington Memorials
New Logo Design
The Iowa Jima flag raising statue overlayed with the crest of the Washington Monument as backdrop.
Team Colors
Burgundy, Gold and Gray
Final Note
As a Skins fan Notice: I said Skins without referencing the whole name.
It has been the only way for me and maybe other fans to fill comfortable with the team’s name.
Also as a African-American the subconscious accept ice most likely for many Skins fans
Is the Native American icon logo is brown. Most likely a conscious choice for during the 60’s-70’s
era of Washington D.C. census population marked as high as a 70 percent African-American/Black
populace. Suppose the logo depicted a red Native American. We can love our team however
it is way past time to remove derogatory linguistic for our rich culture as Washingtonians.
Born and Raised in the Nation’s Capitol – The place where tours folk to momentarily
Absorb Our Country’s governmental seat – What a Priviledge
Heartfully
Thomas N. Corbett 3rd
