5 Questions
Why fight American Indian mascots?
By SHIRA SCHOENBERG
Concord Monitor – January 15, 2007
Dartmouth College sophomore Ibrahim Elshamy (left), 19, is lobbying the Manchester School Board to abolish Central High School's American Indian mascot and Memorial High School's Crusader. Although Elshamy supported the mascot when he was Central High's class president in 2005, he now calls the symbols hurtful to American Indians.
Why do you feel so strongly about the mascots? If something hurts somebody, I try to alleviate that hurt. I've been reading about these national issues, and the more I read, I realize that both mascots hurt a lot of people. I see no reason to keep them.
What have you done so far? My first involvement was chatting with a friend who made me think about my stance on issues. I started researching online and in print, and in early December started a website, hatemascot.com, to act as a facilitator for discussion and information. This Monday was the first time I took a public stance and spoke before the school board.
What do you hope to accomplish? I hope the school board can review its stance on these hurtful symbols. If they really respect the feelings of other people, they'll change them.
What response have you received? Overwhelming negativity. Most people are ingrained to accept these symbols. I don't blame them. I was a strong supporter of the American Indian. Most people feel a strong attack on the history and heritage of their school, and it's difficult to try to persuade them that symbol and pride are two separate things.
Will you be involved with similar discussions at Dartmouth? No. At Dartmouth, there's a large native community, and they're doing a great job facilitating discussion on their own. I have a lot on my plate with Manchester. But it's the same issue. It's a symbol that's hurtful to a certain group of people. Another group doesn't seem to care. Their concern is pride and history.