![]()
Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support. FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 20, 2020 Goal reached: Long push for Redskins team name change succeeds![]() ![]() Look for suggestions or speculation about the new team name.
![]() Are fans and others discussing the Redskins in letters columns, reader forums or blogs? Show a quote.
![]() Share other sports news that's not about players or during games.
In a long-awaited move, the Washington Redskins will change their name and logo, widely seen as a racial slur by Native Americans and others. "Never has arrived," writes USA Today football reporter Tom Schad, referring to owner Daniel Snyder’s repeated insistence that he'd never rename the franchise. "You can use caps" for never, he told that newspaper in 2013. The team hasn't yet announced a new name or said when it will do so. (A new NFL season starts Sept. 10.) The turnabout comes amid mounting pressure, including from FedEx, a major sponsor that holds naming rights at the team's stadium. In addition, Nike recently dropped team merchandise on its website and two other big sponsors -- Pepsi and Bank of America -- called for a name change. The move follows decades of simmering frustration from many Native Americans and activists, who've criticized the Redskins' name as insensitive or racist. The word's roots extend back to at least the mid-18th century, when colonists and Native Americans began clashing. Another team with a Native American mascot, baseball's Cleveland Indians, also is moving toward a new name. "The recent unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice," a July 3 statement says. The late May death of George Floyd while being arrested in Minneapolis intensified national discussions about racial injustice. Inappropriate symbols and monuments have come down. "We will not rest until the offensive use of Native imagery, logos, and names are eradicated from professional, collegiate and K-12 sports," says Crystal Echo Hawk, executive director of IllumiNative, a nonprofit alliance in Tulsa, Okla. "The time is now to stand in solidarity and declare that racism will not be tolerated. . . . There is no good way to honor native people by making mascots around them." In contrast, President Trump said two weeks ago that the Redskins and Indians shouldn't give in to political correctness.
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024
Front Page Talking Points Archive►President Biden, 81, resists calls to let a younger Democrat run against Donald Trump ►Turning point: Supreme Court says presidents have 'absolute immunity' for official acts ►First Biden-Trump debate of 2024 airs Thursday from Georgia ►Health experts monitor the jump of bird flu to cows and a few farm hands, but see no wide risk ►Negro Leagues stars from a bygone era gain new standing in Major League Baseball records ►Justice Samuel Alito adds two flags to Supreme Court ethics storms ►Use of new weight-loss drugs soars among teens ►Needy families await action on bill to restore federal internet service rebates ►U.S. government may challenge concert business dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster |