Rising Hearts activists claim victory with viral #GoRedhawks mascot campaign

Friday, December 15, 2017

Rising Hearts, a women-led coalition of Native activists, set the internet ablaze this week with their viral #GoRedhawks campaign, which had many convinced that the Washington NFL team had eliminated its controversial name and mascot.

Even though the "news" wasn't real, Rebecca Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who helped organize the effort, said it was a success. She told The Washington Post -- whose website was among those spoofed on Wednesday -- that the team could change its name without losing support among fans.

“Our goal for the campaign was to prove that changing the name would be easy, popular and powerful,” Nagle told The Post as Rising Hearts held a press conference at the George Preston Marshall Monument in front of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The team used to play at the stadium, not far from the U.S. Capitol.

“So I think that we as native activists have had to fight out this argument of why it should change, and I think we were able to efficiently flip the script,” Nagle added.

The activists will be at it again on Sunday morning, with a rally, at FedEx Field, the Maryland facility where the team currently plays.

"This city deserves a mascot to cheer for--not a racist joke," Rising Hearts said.

Read More on the Story:
‘Washington Redhawks’ organizers claim success, say articles were satire, not ‘fake news’ (The Washington Post December 14, 2017)
These Activists Changed The Washington 'Redskins' To 'Redhawks' (Newsy December 14, 2017)
American Indian activists seek to rekindle debate on Redskins nickname (The Washington Post December 13, 2017)
This Native American Group Just Showed How Easy It Would Be To Change The Washington Redskins' Name (BuzzFeed December 13, 2017)
Activists Use Expert Prank To Show Redskins How Easy It Would Be To Change Racist Name (Go Sports December 13, 2017)
Redskins deny name change to 'Redhawks' after internet hoax (EPSN December 13, 2017)

Also Today:
Suzan Shown Harjo: Offensive mascots belong in museums and history books (December 15, 2017)

Some Opinion:s
Column by Thomas Boswell Changing a nickname seems like a seismic shift, but it’s rarely a Mammoth deal (The Washington Post December 14, 2017)
Demetrius Bell: The Washington Redhawks Hoax Is Actually A Well-Executed Concept Design (Forbes.Com December 15, 2017)