Contributed Image / Franklin County High School's 1950 yearbook features the school's Rebel mascot.The Tennessee Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint alleging racial discrimination in Franklin County Schools after a school board decision in October not to remove the "Rebel" mascot and fight song "Dixie" from Franklin County High.
The complaint, filed by Sewanee, Tennessee, resident Chris Colane on Nov. 9, 2020, claims "discrimination on the basis of race" by the school system in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to a Dec. 17, 2020, letter from the state to Franklin County Director of Schools Stanley Bean.
The complaint follows calls for change over the summer of 2020.
Colane, who is white, filed the complaint "[b]ecause of the absence of public discussion by any of the board members, I felt our petition was not given due consideration and that the Tennessee Office of Civil Rights would more thoroughly investigate our concerns," she said in an emailed statement.
"These symbols continue to be a symbol of white oppression of African American students today," she said. "There can be no equality of education under such symbols and conditions."
Colane said Friday she hopes the investigation can lead to a change, "but more importantly I hope hearts will be changed."
A gray-clad little general - sometimes called Mr. Rebel, Col. Rebel or the Southern Gentleman - has existed as the school's mascot since 1950, according to officials, and it has been no stranger to criticism at other times over the years, as have the school's fight song and other elements.
There's no outward sign of the Rebel at the current 310,000-square-foot Franklin County High School in Winchester that graduated its first class in 2005, but the name exists on a campus road, Rebel Drive, and the name Rebels is on team uniforms, fan wear, equipment and in other sports programs and activities.
According to the complaint allegations, Bean and school board members "failed to acknowledge and dismantle on-going systemic racial discrimination and the racially hostile environment within the district that has been caused by Franklin County High School's continued use of symbols, images, and songs that represent the Confederacy in association with its athletic teams and school seal."
Bean on Friday deferred comment to the school system's legal counsel in the matter, Nashville attorney Chuck Cagle.
On Friday, Cagle acknowledged the investigation but noted any further response from the school system would be limited while it was taking place.
In October, Colane, the mother of a former "Rebel" who rejected the name and images in the 1990s when other students walked out over calls for change, and Shanae Williams, a Franklin County parent of a middle school student who was a Black cheerleader at the high school herself, were among those who addressed the school board before its October 2020 vote. Many of the rebel's opponents had spoken at earlier board meetings.
There were also a number of people at the meetings who defended the long-established images, and some suggested that a "rebel" isn't necessarily a Confederate image but represents a non-conformist.
Last July, Williams submitted a petition called "Project Rebel" that called for a committee to be established to select a new mascot and a task force to dialogue, create awareness, and implement training and policies to promote sensitivity to racial discrimination in the district. The petition also asked officials to enforce the district's student discrimination, harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying and intimidation policy, according to the state letter. That petition had 5,145 signatures on Friday.
A counter-petition was started in response seeking to keep the mascot. It had more than 470 signatures on Friday.
When the issue finally was brought up for a vote in October, board members split 5-3 in favor of making no changes. School board members Chris Guess, Cleijo Walker, Lance Williams, Christine Hopkins and Caycee Hanger Roberts voted to keep the symbols, while Sara L. Keichty, Sarah Marhevsky and Linda Jones voted to reject them.
Board members have remained mum on the question and there was no discussion during the virtual meeting before the vote.
After the vote in October, Williams said, "It's disturbing but it's almost expected."
In the letter from the state to Bean, more allegations by Williams were included claiming that Black student athletes at the school were told "they could not speak out about the issue of the petition calling for removal of the rebel mascot " and that "they should refrain from participating in discussion related to the issues raised in the petition."
Department of Education Office of Civil Rights officials didn't respond Friday to a request for information on the investigative process. However, a Dec. 3, 2020, letter from the state to Colane states that she will be notified of findings in the investigation when it is concluded.
Colane said she hopes supporters of the mascot can "be open to considering the idea that Rebel culture does have historical ties to the Confederacy and slavery, whether intentional or not, and that it is oppressive to their black brothers and sisters, as well as offensive to some whites. I think that mediated training, open dialogue and the healing of time is necessary for all of this to happen."
According to the state letter to Bean, the Office of Civil Rights has requested from the school system copies of its non-discrimination policies and grievance procedures; complaints filed by Colane and Williams, as well as any other complaints related to racial discrimination; witness statements, interview notes, findings and reports; disciplinary action documents; and any relevant social media or video evidence related to each complaint.
State officials also requested a statement outlining how school system officials responded to the allegations of Black athletes being told not to speak or discuss the matter, and copies of any documents related to a 2020 survey about whether the mascot should be changed and any other survey done related to views on racial discrimination or harassment in the system.
Officials with the civil rights office "will initiate an investigation into what actions, if any, the school and district took regarding the alleged racial discrimination and/or harassment. Please note that the initiation of an investigation in no way implies that the department has made a determination with regard to the merit of the allegations. During this investigation, the department is a neutral fact-finder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from the complainant and other sources, as appropriate," the letter states.
Officials said in the letter that on-site visits and in-person interviews could be requested as the investigation continues.
Colane said the Office of Civil Rights recently told her "the investigation is still ongoing and will possibly be concluded within a couple of weeks."
She urged anyone with any related information or testimony about incidents in the last 180 days to call the office at 615-741-2921 before the investigation is concluded.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.
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Project Rebel demands
Demands of Change: Remove all sounds and symbols of anything resembling or connected to the Confederacy.We ask that the school board adopt as official policy and fully implement these recommendations under the school/student code of conduct:1. Prohibit/discontinue the song and sound of ‘Dixie’ in any FCHS sponsored, affiliated activities/events, and school functions (pep rallies, sporting events, parades, etc).2. Rebel mascot (the name, symbol, all signage, etc) - A mascot is anything that is used to represent a group with a common public identity. The ‘Rebel,’ symbol and name, is a depiction and symbolic representation of a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. At the time of Franklin County’s inception, in the 1950s [before the significant ruling of Brown v Board of Education in 1954], the student body was intentionally composed of only white students. Therefore, the mascot as a whole, specifically considering Franklin Co. School System’s history of overt racial oppression, that resulted in a prolonged period of segregation, does not represent the Franklin County School System of today. The Confederates’ and the ‘states-rights’ which they fought for included the categorization of African-Americans as property to enslave, instead of a human being with the capability to fully exercise their rights as an American citizen.3. The school seal - The school seal is designed with stars and stripes that are indicative, via design and formation, of a strong relationship with the Confederate flag. Any symbol(s) that appear connected to the Confederacy, or resemble Confederate symbols, which represents the high school [a public institution] is egregious and should not be commemorated in any sense.Source: Project Rebel summary written by Shanae Williams seeking removal of “sounds and symbols of anything resembling or connected to the Confederacy.”