And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:01:04 EST >Subject: Fwd: Erwin >X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 230 > > >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 23:18:11 -0400 >From: David Voyles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Organization: AT&T >X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.02E (Macintosh; U; 68K) >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Erwin >References: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Hello Friend (Thank you for considering me one, as I do you.) > >You make a very good point about the deception on which the student vote >was based, whether all parties considered it deception or not. I will >share this with my colleagues at every opportunity. > >I more than understand your anger. As I told my wife, the more I read, >not only of the history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but >recent history (L. Peltier & the Oglala incident, for example), the more >I am impressed with how patient you have been. It has been twenty years >since I read "Bury My Heart..." but it is time to read it again. Thanks >for the reminder. > >This information may not help you, but I will share my feelings with you >from my conversations with school board members in the past two weeks. >Steve Ensley (a fellow teacher) and I have been lobbying the board in >preparation for our statement on Thurs. We did not want them to feel >that we were surprising them with anything, and we also wanted them to >view the videos I mentioned before. (We sent copies to all whom you had >not already sent copies.) We did not want to alienate them because we >think some are close to making the decision we want. We also had been >wanting to make an official statement as faculty members for some time. >I have talked with four board members and Steve two. I believe that four >of those six would like to change the mascot (one is still pretty >neutral) and are beginning to understand (stress beginning) that this is >a moral issue and not only a political one. Regardless, they definitely >understand now that it is a legal one. Of course there's the distinct >possibility that they are just telling me what I want to hear. I tell >you what we've done just so that you'll know; in no way am I suggesting >what you should or shouldn't do. Whether your plans of demonstration >will push them towards our mutual goal or away from it, I can¹t say. > >By all means, I will continue to help in any way possible; I look >forward to seeing you at the Board meeting on Thursday (you'll be there, >I understand?) > >Rather than wait until Mon. I'm going to type the faculty statement in >for you now. This is the copy I have at home, and it is pretty close to >the revised one, if not exactly it. Keep in mind, it expresses a >majority, but unfortunately, not all of the faculty. (By the way, we >are not mentioning the numbers, pro or con, of the faculty poll. We >don't want this to be an issue of numbers, it's an issue of what's right >or wrong.) If you would like to use the final copy after Thursday in >any publications, of course, you¹re welcome to it. The intent is to be >public record. > >Definitely with you in spirit, >David > >Faculty Statement > > In the belief that a public education institution has not only a >social responsibility, but a moral obligation to respect and to teach >respect for all people, regardless of race, religion, gender, or >culture, we, the undersigned Clyde A. Erwin High School faculty, >respectfully request that the Buncombe County School Board examine its >previous decision to allow the mascots at Erwin High School to remain as >the ³Warriors and Squaws.² > The directive to allow the student body at Erwin High School to decide >whether or not to change the mascot placed the faculty in an awkward >position. While the intention of providing students with an opportunity >to participate in the democratic process was commendable, a consequence >of this exercise was to convey the message that decision-making is based >on personal preference rather than what is right or wrong. >Additionally, continuing to use ³Warriors and Squaws² has caused many of >us to feel that by our silence, we are giving our tacit approval to a >practice which we find morally wrong. We are finding it increasingly >difficult to live with such a feeling of hypocrisy, that is, the idea >that we teach tolerance and acceptance of all people, while perpetuating >a stereotype which demeans Native Americans through our continued use of >the Erwin mascot. > Although we acknowledge that no harm or disrespect was ever intended to >be directed toward Native Americans, we also recognize that to use any >group of human beings as mascots encourages and perpetuates >stereotypical depictions of those people. We believe that if we truly >desire to honor Native Americans, we would refrain from using likenesses >of them or objects often associated with their sacred ceremonies and >beliefs. > Unfortunately, even on a national level, when research is conducted on >the topic of racism in schools, the names ³Clyde A. Erwin High School² >and ³Buncombe County Schools² surface. We have an opportunity to be >recognized instead as an example of a school system that made a >conscious decision on its own to promote a genuine spirit of respect for >all cultures and all people. > In that spirit, we, as members of the faculty of Erwin High School >would like to encourage the Buncombe County Board of Education to act >courageously and honorably by effecting a change of mascot at Erwin High >School, not because it is the politically correct thing to do, but >because, quite simply, it is the correct thing to do. > &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&