Rebels no more. North Carolina high school will change its Confederate-themed mascot
Parkwood High School will no longer be called the Rebels.
The Union County Schools Board of Education voted Tuesday night to change the school’s mascot and nickname. The vote passed 6-2. Parkwood, located in Monroe just southeast of Charlotte, will begin to take steps to name a new mascot.
The “Rebel” previously used in Parkwood High’s logo was an image of a confederate soldier. In 2009, the Union County NAACP made an effort to get the mascot changed, calling it a form of “intimidation and harassment.”
The current logo is a shield with a “P” in it above a sword.
Another Union County School, Monroe High, changed its mascot from Rebels to the Redhawks in 1995.
“This issue has come up several times,” said Parkwood High boys basketball coach Mike Helms, who graduated from the school in 1978. “To be honest, when Monroe High changed their name, in my mind, I thought we would be next. I just thought it would filter down to us and it didn’t happen for whatever reason.”
When contacted by The Observer, the Union County school board declined to comment on the decision.
Previously in Stanly County, South Stanly changed to the Rebel Bulls.
In 2004,West Mecklenburg changed its nickname from Indians to Hawks. Vance High School in Charlotte, named after a former Confederate officer, will be renamed soon.
A former student at South Point High School in Gaston County has started a change.org petition to change the school’s nickname from Red Raiders. Another petition to keep the name has also emerged.
