TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, home of the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers football team, hosted two events yesterday. One was an unremarkable football game, between two mediocre teams: the visitors from Washington DC and the Minnesota Vikings (the home team won, 29-26).
The other event was a protest. Or, more accurately, many, many protests, brought together by a common target, the National Football League team in our nation’s capitol, and its owner, Dan Snyder. The groups combined to make one common request: Change the Name. In the continued efforts to change the Washington Team name, thousands of protesters, led by members of Congress and Native American leaders from around the nation, gathered in Minneapolis for a day of protest this Sunday.
The groups marched from Northrup Auditorium, down University Avenue before arriving at TCF Bank Stadium, where several hours of speeches and protesting unfolded. It was a sight to behold.
Veterans had a strong presence at the stadium, both American Indian war vets, and Veterans for Peace, whose banners flew throughout the crowd.
The caricatured nature of the “Indian mascot” was a target in the speeches and protests signs.
Legendary comic Dick Gregory was part of the lineup. He was very funny. But he also spoke powerfully of the civil rights campaigns he has seen in his 82 years. “We’ve been in a lot of fights for human dignity,” he said. “We’ve won them all.”
Protesters filled the open spaces around the stadium, forcing attendees of the NFL game to pass in close proximity.
Many were supportive. Many others, less so. Some wearing Washington supporters gear were clearly uncomfortable. Others confronted protesters. Shouts of “Get over it!”, or, “You’re the racists” were heard more than once.
One fan I spoke to, Jeff from Andover, thought that most of the protesters were honest. Some, though, probably just want to hear themselves shout. “But you have to admire their coming out to say it,” he added.
At one point, a passing Vikings fan said: “It’s not like ‘Vikings’ is a nice word for us.”
I spoke to a young woman who wouldn’t give me her name. She went to University of North Dakota. She said: “Who are they (the protesters) mad at? Who are they protesting? Are they protesting us because we’re Vikings fans? We went through the same mascot thing at UND and now we don’t have a name.
Her friend added, “I don’t care about taking a stand for things.”
Students and alumni of the University of Minnesota’s American Indian Student Cultural Center protested together. Dawi, in a green hood, said the Vikings fans were worse to deal with.
Among the U of M’s ASCC students was Elizabeth, who said: “Redskins refers to the scalps of my ancestors collected for money. It’s backwards to say that a racist word isn’t racist.”
The font and design of the Washington jersey’s was featured on t-shirts, with Redskins replaced by Rethink, Rename, or Racist.
There was a constant refrain among the protesters that I spoke with: any other racial slur and the name could not stand. What’s the difference?
Of all the individual posters, this one, depicting Washington team owner Dan Snyder in a Klan hood reading “Whiteskins” was the most controversial. Several passers-by stopped to confront the man holding it in the span of a few minutes.
At one point, an upset Vikings fan told him-up close and with volume-that his sign was racist, and that it’s only going to make others angry and cost him support. The protester replied, “I am angry. This is anger. We are all angry.”
There was, to be sure, a lot of anger in the crowd. But also, there was a lot of connecting , or re-connecting. Rejoicing in the sight of old friends, or new ones perhaps.
#ChangeTheName
