A state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would pressure New York schools to remove team names, mascots or logos deemed racially offensive — such as those with Native American symbols and lineage.
The measure from state Sen. Peter Harckham (D-Westchester) would require schools to remove any “race-based mascots��� within three years — or lose state funding. Perhaps anticipating a firestorm of criticism, he said Tuesday he’d amended the bill to remove the funding threat.
“We can no longer simply dismiss the idea that school or team nicknames and mascots are innocuous and do not hurt or offend other people,” said Harckham.
“The fact is, many mascots are grounded in, or borne from, a systemic racism that does not mesh with the democratic values we share and seek to protect. It’s time we hold honest, respectful conversations and public hearings aimed at understanding what’s wrong with these kinds of mascots and why they should be retired.”
His initial bill memo said: “Adopting this legislation would provide schools three years to remove any race-based mascots or they lose state funding. This timeframe will allow school districts time to budget these changes. As we look into the future of NYS it is vital that we discontinue these racial and insensitive practices.”
There are more than 100 schools in New York state whose sports teams are named after Native Americans — such as the Indians, Chiefs, Arrows and Red Raiders, Harckham said.
The issue has raged for decades after former state Education Commissioner Richard Mills pressured schools to change their Native American mascots. The defunct Brooklyn Canarsie High School’s teams were called the Chiefs.
Harckham’s bill comes as a National Football League team — the Washington Redskins — announced that it’s changing its name following years of criticism that the moniker is demeaning to Native Americans.
But Harckham’s Republican opponent in the general election, former two-term Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, accused him of pushing a tone-deaf, petty and punitive bill during a killer pandemic.
“Parents have enough concerns about getting their children safely back into the classroom without having to worry about their schools being shut down over political correctness run amok,” Astorino said.
“But even more than that, this knee-jerk legislation calls into question the priorities of our state elected officials, namely Pete Harckham. With all the challenges facing us as New Yorkers — with all the economic suffering middle- and working-class families are experiencing — this is the bill Senator Harkham introduces? It’s downright embarrassing, and he should know that.
“Innocuous school mascots are nowhere on my list. There’s real work to be done,” Astorino said.