To all my Washington Football fans, according to history, here is a description of the term 'Redskin' - "Many claim the term is a particularly egregious racial epithet that represents a bloody era in American history in which Indigenous Americans were hunted, killed, and forcibly removed from their lands by European settlers. The claim often centers around a proclamation against Penobscot Indians in 1755 issued by King George II of Great Britain, known commonly as the Phips Proclamation.
The proclamation orders, “His Majesty’s subjects to Embrace all opportunities of pursuing, captivating, killing and Destroying all and every of the aforesaid Indians.” The colonial government paid 50 pounds for scalps of males over 12 years, 25 pounds for scalps of women over 12, and 20 pounds for scalps of boys and girls under 12. Twenty-five (25) British pounds sterling in 1755, worth around $9,000 today —a small fortune in those days when an English teacher earned 60 pounds a year.
However, since the proclamation itself does not use the word redskin, citing it as the origin of "redskin = scalp" has also been called "revisionist history". Explain to me why do you cheer for a team that uses a derogatory term. (Please don't use the answer because I was born in DC). What are you doing to show the Native American people that you care? Are you willing to make a stand or simply go along with the demeaning and degradation of a culture?
Understand this: I don't dislike the players, it's the name and symbolism that I object to. - Dr. Sinclair Grey III
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