In the event that the Gill Montague Regional School Committee decides to eliminate the current mascot/logo that is used by Turners Falls’ sports teams, I would like to propose an alternative.
African-Americans have excelled in nearly every sport that is played in America. They have dominated in baseball, football, basketball, track and field, tennis, etc. Excellence in such a wide variety of athletic endeavors does not merely indicate that the participants have well developed physical strength, stamina and coordination, but also that they have a strong sense of determination, teamwork, a willingness to sacrifice and to fight to be the best in their field. These attributes of such highly successful athletes should serve as an inspiration and motivation to all young athletes. Therefore, I propose that Turners Falls rename its sports teams after the African-Americans. We could call ourselves the Turners Falls “Blacks” or the Turners Falls “Negros.” Or if we wanted a title that is more traditional, we could use one of the historical (and racist) monikers.
Non-African-American members of the teams or team trainers or cheerleaders who want to motivate better performance, or to intimidate their opponents on the playing fields, can dress up in blackface to invoke the spirit of excellence of Black Americans.
To make sure that future generations of Gill-Montague citizens understand that we arrived at this choice of mascot for our teams after careful consideration and through a constitutional and democratic process, the taxpayers who fund the district should vote to approve the choice. And any of those landowners who also have a child who is a participant on one of the sports teams, should receive an extra three-fifths of a vote for each of their scholar-athletes.
Please think about it!
Paul Voiland
Montague Center