BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 30
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Ian Charles Calderon, Chair
AB 30
Alejo - As Amended April 7, 2015
SUBJECT: School or athletic team names: California Racial
Mascots Act.
SUMMARY: Establishes the California Racial Mascots Act and
prohibits, beginning January 1, 2017, all public schools from
using the term "Redskins" for school or athletic team names,
mascots, or nicknames Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes a public school to continue to use uniforms or
other materials bearing the term "Redskins" as a school or
athletic team name, mascot, or nickname that were purchased
before January 1, 2017, if all of the following requirements
are met:
a) The school selects a new school or athletic team name,
mascot, or nickname;
b) The school refrains from purchasing or acquiring, for
the purpose of distribution or sale to pupils or school
employees, any uniform that includes or bears the term
"Redskins", except that a school using uniforms that bear
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the term "Redskins" may, prior to January 1, 2019, purchase
or acquire a number of uniforms equal up to 20% of the
total number of uniforms used by a team or band at the
school during the 2016-17 school year for the purpose of
replacing damaged or lost uniforms;
c) The school refrains from purchasing or acquiring, for
the purpose of distribution or sale to pupils or school
employees, any yearbook, newspaper, program, or other
similar material that includes or bears the prohibited
school or athletic team name, mascot, or nickname in its
logo or cover title; and,
d) The school refrains from purchasing or constructing a
marquee, sign, or other new or replacement fixture that
includes or bears the prohibited school or athletic team
name, mascot, or nickname.
2)Specifies that the provisions of this bill may not be waived
by the State Board of Education (SBE), except as specified by
the bill.
3)Finds and declares that the use of racially derogatory or
discriminatory school or athletic team names, mascots, or
nicknames in California public schools is antithetical to the
California school mission of providing an equal education to
all, and that certain athletic team names, mascots, and
nicknames are discriminatory in singling out the Native
American community for the derision to which mascots or
nicknames are often subjected.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Specifies that it is the policy of the State of California to
afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their
disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression,
nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation,
or any other characteristic that is contained in the
definition of hate crimes, equal rights and opportunities in
the educational institutions of the state. (Education Code
(EC) Section 200)
2)Requires the SBE to adopt policies directed toward creating a
school environment in kindergarten through grade 12 that is
free from discriminatory attitudes and practices and acts of
hate violence. (EC Section 233)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement of need for legislation. According to the
author, "The use of the R-word as a team mascot began in an
era when racism and bigotry were deemed acceptable. Once used
to describe Native Americans scalps sold for a bounty, current
use of the R-word is widely recognized as a racial slur that
promotes discrimination against Native Americans. The Native
Congress of American Indians launched a campaign 40 years ago
to go against derogatory stereotypes in media and sports.
Throughout the country, hundreds of demeaning "Indian" mascots
have already been replaced. In 1972, Stanford switched from
the Indians to the Cardinals. Other universities and hundreds
of high schools have followed suit since then. This past
summer, the movement gained momentum when the Yocha DeHe Tribe
of Northern California aired a commercial denouncing the
Washington mascot during the National Basketball Association
(NBA) Finals. The commercial has refocused attention on the
issue and helped millions of Americans understand the racial
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overtones of the team's moniker. With growing support and
awareness of the issue, it is time that we act to disallow the
use of the R-word by our public schools."
2)Supporters: Redskins is a racist term and should not be used
as a school mascot. "When it comes to various aspects of
imagery and representation of Native Americans in popular
culture, there are many layers and issues. However, with
respect to the broader arena of Indian mascots, it is clear
that ideas and images connected to redskins are rooted in a
history of racism towards Native Americans. Many Native people
know and understand this, and Native American children should
not be subjected to this form of institutional racism, nor
should they accept it," said Brian A. Baker, Director of
Native American Studies at California State University,
Sacramento in support of AB 30. The Southern California Indian
Center, Inc. confirm this sentiment in their support, sharing,
"Living in a society with a history of racial prejudice
requires even more sensitivity to the use of words and phrases
derived from generations of hate, bigotry, and violence. Once
used to describe Native American scalps sold for a bounty, the
R-word is no different than racial epithets used against other
racial groups. In recent years, the nation has increasingly
focused on the offensiveness of the R-word because of its
continued use by a professional football franchise. While that
franchise is not located in California, our state should cease
contributing what is viewed, more and more, as a national
problem by ending the use of "Redskins" as a mascot in our
public schools."
The American Civil Liberties Union supports for additional
reasons, saying, "Public schools must strive to dispel, not
perpetuate, racial stereotypes, if our students are to learn
and be treated as equals. Moreover, schools' display of Indian
mascots frequently infringes on religious freedom by
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appropriating and denigrating sacred symbols for mass
entertainment. Eagle feathers, face paint and sacred dances
have religious significance for some tribes. Just as public
schools may not constitutionally endorse religious symbols,
they also may not denigrate them; yet schools do this when
their official mascots, decorated with sacred feathers on
Indian mascots, conduct 'War dances' at school athletic
events."
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Tribal Council also
urge support, pointing out that, "This country has progressed
on so many social fronts over the last several decades,
correcting oppressive, legally sanctioned behavior that
treated many of our American citizens of color as less than
equal partners in their pursuit to live the American Dream.
'Redskins' is a term that harkens back to those darker times.
In our view, it is time for California public schools to drop
the nickname that is widely viewed as a racial slur by Native
Americans."
"There doesn't have to be a racist intent to produce a raciest
outcome," notes the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in their letter
to the committee. "Implementation of AB 30 is important to
ensure that all children attending school in the State of
California are able to do so without fear of discrimination or
derision. We recognize that change does not occur overnight
and support the phased-in approach outlined in AB 30 which
will ensure that the affected schools are not unduly impacted
from a financial perspective."
3)Opposition: local control is the best way to address the
issue. The City of Gustine opposes AB 30, based upon their
support of the Gustine Unified School District and Gustine
High School's "Redskin" mascot. They wrote the committee to
say, "At no time in the 80 years that Gustine High School has
proudly displayed the Redskins mascot has any disparaging or
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derogatory use of the Redskin moniker taken place. The respect
that the community and the School District have for Native
Americans is clear and well documented. We believe that
allowing the local control process to play out is the most
appropriate way to address this matter."
4)The evolution of the term "Redskins." The origin of the term
"redskin" is a subject of some controversy. Sources including
The Washington Post and Wikipedia refer to linguists such as
Smithsonian linguistics scholar Ives Goddard, who believe the
emergence of the term "redskins' is from the speech of Native
Americans themselves and that the origin and use of the term
in the late 18th and early 19th century was benign. This view
is mirrored by University of Connecticut historian Nancy
Shoemaker, who offers the following origin explanation, "By
the time the original colonial designations of "Christian" and
"Indian" were giving way to 'white,' 'red' and, with the
increase in slave traffic, 'black.' 'Color didn't originate
with Indian-white relations but with slavery." (Citation
omitted).
A different view of the origin of the term is offered by Suzan
Shown Harjo and other Native American activists who, for the
past 13 years, have sought to cancel trademarks covering the
name and logo of the Washington Redskins, based upon their
belief that the origin of the term is based in the 1700's when
early settlers offered a bounty for the killings of Native
American people. "Redskin" was used to describe the bloody
scalp that was provided as proof of a killing.
Regardless of the original meaning, the term has come to be
associated by some with anti-Native American racism and is
considered pejorative by many persons. As sports mascots, the
term can encourage highly offensive speech by opposing teams.
Chants such as "Kill the Redskins!" or "Scalp the Indians!"
are commonly shouted by opponents of teams with Native
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American team names and mascots. These and negative mascot
images may have a harmful effect on the self-esteem and
self-confidence of Native American youth. (In a July 2014
report titled "Missing the Point," Erik Stegman and Victoria
Phillips report that suicide is the second leading cause of
death for Native American youth between 15 and 24, at a rate
that is 2.5 times higher than the national average.)
5)How many schools would be impacted by passage of AB 30? There
are currently four high schools in California that use
"Redskins" as a team name and mascot. They include Gustine
High School (Merced County), Calaveras High School (Calaveras
County), Chowchilla Union High School (Madera County), and
Tulare Union High School (Tulare County).
Colusa High School (Colusa County) changed its team name from
"Redskins" to "Redhawks" about four years ago. The Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD) Board passed a resolution in
1997 finding that the "use of American Indian mascot names and
images in schools evokes negative images that become deeply
imbedded in the minds of students, depicting American Indians
in inaccurate, stereotypic, and often violent manners." The
resolution resolved that American Indian mascots and names
such as Apaches, Mohicans, Warriors, and Braves would no
longer be used. In 1998, a federal judge upheld the LAUSD
resolution. According to the LAUSD, all American Indian names
have been eliminated.
Nationally, at the high school level, 28 teams in 18 states
have dropped the "Redskins" name during the past 25 years as a
result of a combination of state legal action, protests from
Native American groups, or voluntarily. However, there remain
62 high schools in the United States that continue to use the
redskins name. Three of these have a majority of Native
American students: Red Mesa High School (Arizona), Wellpinit
High School Wellpinit, Washington and Kingston High School
Kingston, Oklahoma. (Capital News Service, The Other Redskins,
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retrieved March 30, 2015.)
6)National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Policy on
"Hostile and Abusive" Mascots. In 2005, the NCAA Executive
Committee established a policy prohibiting colleges or
universities with hostile or abusive mascots, nicknames or
imagery from hosting any NCAA championship competitions. Also
in 2005, National Congress of American Indians passed a
resolution in support of the NCAA ban on "Indian" mascots,
nicknames, and imagery in postseason play, including the
namesake exception policy. The NCAA's policy took effect
February 1, 2006.
Then-NCAA President Myles Brand stated in support of the
policy, "The NCAA objects to institutions using
racial/ethnic/national origin references in their
intercollegiate athletics programs...As a national
association, we believe that mascots, nicknames or images
deemed hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or
national origin should not be visible at the championship
events that we control."
Upon announcing the policy, the NCAA's Executive Committee
also "strongly suggested that institutions follow the best
practices of institutions that do not support the use of
Native American mascots or imagery. Model institutions include
the University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin, who have
practices of not scheduling athletic competitions with schools
who use Native American nicknames, imagery or mascots."
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The NCAA's namesake exception allows universities to keep
their Native American nicknames and imagery if it is based on
a particular tribe and have the permission to do so by the
respective tribe. In 2005 the NCAA approved a namesake
exception process;
"?by which colleges and universities subject to restrictions
on the use of Native American mascots, names and imagery at
NCAA championships will be reviewed?One primary factor that
will be considered is if documentation exists that a
'namesake' tribe has formally approved of the use of the
mascot, name, and imagery by the institution."
The Florida State University "Seminoles," the University of
Utah "Utes," and the Central Michigan University "Chippewas"
were taken off the list after the local namesake tribes
expressed support for their respective mascots and logos. The
University of North Dakota did not receive an exemption for
its Fighting Sioux name after it was determined that there was
insufficient namesake support from local tribes. The
University dropped the name in 2012 after more than two-thirds
of voters in North Dakota voted against a state referendum to
keep the name. California has one namesake exemption campus,
CSU San Diego Aztec. No professional sports body has adopted a
similar policy.
7)Prior related legislation.
a) ACR 168 (Alejo) of 2014, urges the National Football
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League (NFL) to join with the Legislature and numerous
organizations in calling for a name change for the
Washington, D.C. NFL team, and calls upon the owners of NFL
teams based in California to urge the owner of the
Washington, D.C. NFL team and the NFL Commissioner to
change the team mascot. Adopted.
b) ACR 164 (Goldberg) of 2006, requested the California
Interscholastic Federation to adopt policies that are
consistent with the National Collegiate Athletic
Association policies relative to the use of Native American
mascots and any other hostile or abusive racial, ethnic, or
national origin mascot. Adopted.
c) AB 13 (Goldberg) of 2005, substantially similar to this
bill. Vetoed.
d) AB 858 (Goldberg) of 2004, substantially similar to this
bill. Vetoed.
e) AB 2115 (Goldberg) of 2002, would have prohibited all
public schools, community colleges, the California State
University and the University of California, to the extent
agreed upon by the Board of Regents, from using specified
Native American names, including Redskins, Indians, Braves,
Chiefs, Apaches, and Comanches, for school or athletic team
names, mascots, or nicknames. Failed passage on the
Assembly Floor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Tribal Council
American Civil Liberties Union of California
American Indian Community Council
Buena Vista Rancheria, Me-Wuk Indians
California Civil Rights Coalition
California Communities United Institute
California State University, Sacramento, Department of Ethnic
Studies
California Teachers Association
Foothill Indian Education Alliance, Inc.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Northern California Indian Development Council
Round Valley Indian Tribes
Southern California Indian Center, Inc.
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Wilton Rancheria
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Several individuals
Opposition
City of Gustine
Analysis Prepared by:Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450