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Alcorn State Reiterates: It Has Dropped �Braves� Logo

By Shawn Chollette
Black College Wire

Alcorn State's new logo

Alcorn State University officials thought that replacing the school�s logo, a caricature of a tomahawk-toting Native American man, would be a welcome change.

However, a year after dropping the �Braves� logo, as Native American interest groups pressured the NCAA to get rid of offensive images, officials at the Mississippi school said that very few had noted the change.

�Although our new logo was released August of 2003, we felt the need to hold a press conference . . . to officially introduce the new logo because people have been slow to take notice,� said Alcorn sports information director Tyrone Broxton. The news conference was held July 28.

�I was [evaluating] the new NCAA Football 2005, and after selecting Alcorn, that�s when it hit me that the team profile and uniform still used the old Braves logo,� Broxton said, speaking of the game guide.

�In light of this and other findings, we felt it necessary to reiterate the fact that we have a new logo. Alcorn is serious about disassociating with any negative or derogatory images,� Broxton said.

In addition to moving away from stereotypical images, the school hopes that the new imprint will also better market the school, said Alcorn President Dr. Clinton Bristow.

�Of course, we want to abandon anything that might be deemed as culturally offensive, but at the same time, we�d like to boost the Alcorn brand and get the school�s name out there.

�The old logo really wasn�t representative of the university because many people don�t associate Alcorn with Native Americans. So we commissioned one of our alumni to design a new logo, which we think will serve to help promote the school,� Bristow said.

Alcorn�s new logo features a purple letter �A� with gold trimming and the school�s name written through the middle. The Braves image that it replaced had been used by Alcorn since it was founded in 1871.

And, while the Braves will remain as the school�s mascot during the current school year, university officials said that it, too, is on the way out.

Other universities, such as Marquette, St. John's and Miami of Ohio, have dropped old nicknames with Native American themes in favor of less offensive, generic nicknames and mascots.

Coincidentally, Alcorn�s announcement preceded an Aug. 7 assembly of the NCAA�s Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee in Indianapolis to discuss the logo/mascot issue.

Robert Vowels, member of that committee and South Western Athletic Conference commissioner, said the most important outcome of the meeting was the decision not to conduct a second campus survey for schools with logo/mascot issues.

The committee �did a survey back in 2002 and believes another one will provide no new information,� Vowels said. �The executive committee now has all of the salient information needed to make a decision.�

And while Vowels admits that the process of changing questionable mascots and logos is taking a lot of time, he said he does not believe the NCAA is dragging its feet.

�This is an issue that keeps evolving over time. It�s not just about Native American mascots, but also involves the Confederate flag issue as well as others, so folks are just proceeding with caution,� Vowels said. �I think we�re striking that accord [of change] and it might be a little slow, but if we continue pushing the issue, some movement will occur.�

Some Alcorn students said that while they had no problem with the old logo, they don�t mind a little bit of change.

�I didn�t know that we had even changed logos, but if the new one is representative of Alcorn and is not offensive to any ethnic group, then I�m all for it,� said Candice Wynne, a junior psychology major from Meridian, Miss.

Wynne also pointed out that the switch should not be a problem for students because �not too many people even know what our logo looked like before the change.�

However, other students, such as Brandon Woods, said the old logo was a part of Alcorn�s heritage even if it raised sensitive issues for some.

�Since coming to Alcorn, I�ve come to love the Braves� symbolism and meaning,� said the junior industrial technology major from New Orleans.

�Furthermore, I think [Alcorn�s] location provides a historical pretext for using the old Braves logo,� said Woods. Alcorn, located in Lorman, Miss., is near Indian mounds built by the Natchez Indians hundreds of years ago.

And while reaction to the school�s logo/mascot issue has been minimal, one opponent of the old mascot believes Alcorn is doing the right thing.

�I think it�s wonderful that Alcorn decided to change the logo,� said Suzan Shown Harjo, a columnist for the newspaper Indian Country Today who also is president and executive director of the Morning Star Institute, a national Indian rights organization. �For all the things in the world that cannot be changed to make life better, this is one that can.�

Harjo, who is part Cheyenne and Muscogee, has helped lead a legal battle against mascots and logos she considers demeaning or derogatory. She led a 12-year campaign against the NFL�s Washington Redskins.

�There were over 3,000 schools [and other sports organizations] using these mascots in 1970. Today there are fewer than 1,100,� said Harjo. �Other than mascots and logos, nothing changed at those schools. The schools are still great. Their sports teams are still great � or not.�

Harjo also says people should not be defensive about their desire to see stereotypical and offensive mascots and logos changed.

�If even a minority of African American people said that there was something that made them feel uncomfortable, we wouldn�t ask for a Ph.D. dissertation, we�d stopped it. Such is the case with Little Black Sambo restaurants.�

After protests, the Sambo's restaurant chain renamed some of its stores No Place Like Sam's in the 1970s.

�That�s what we should do for each other as people of color,� emphasized Harjo, who counted the NAACP and other civil rights groups as allies.

�The world is such that . . . we just have enough [time] to be as supportive of each other as possible. And if ever there is a case where African Americans needed our help, I�d say �yes I�m for it. Just tell me about it when you have time.� And as far as I�m concerned, when we look back in history we�ll see that Alcorn was on the right side.�

Shawn Chollette is a student at Louisiana Tech University.

Posted Aug. 30, 2004