History of the Mascot

The following is adapted from research conducted by Jordan Drake, BCHS '17. Photographs are from yearbooks from the following years: 1972, '82, '83, and '84. Click on an image to open the gallery.

A faculty member poses with the Confederate Flag along with an image of a Confederate soldier hanging on the wall. A Pep Club sign says “Rebel Rousers”.

Two students hold up a sign. The words are illegible but there is clearly a Confederate Flag in the corner of the sign. I am not sure of the context here; perhaps this was for a project?

Students holding the Confederate Flag. Perhaps at a sporting event?

Students holding the Confederate Flag. Perhaps at a sporting event?

A Confederate Flag displayed in a classroom. I thought this could have been a history class, but I then noticed the Irons on the table to the right, and what appears to be a sewing machine on the left. Perhaps it is a home ec class, in that case, why was it there? Maybe a student project? Maybe the teacher hung it as decoration?

A faculty member wears a suit with a cartoon Confederate soldier holding the Confederate flag; it is seemingly embroidered on the pocket. The pocket says “Boyle Co” on the left, the right portion is illegible. Did he do this himself? Was it a gift from the school given to faculty? Was this an official piece of BCHS merchandise?

A faculty member wears a hat that displays a portion of the Confederate flag. I again wonder if this was an official piece of boyle county merchandise, or did he put that logo on himself? I also wonder where the logo came from as it looks "official", was this a logo created and used by BCHS at one point in time?

A Confederate soldier along with the Confederate flag appears on the cover of the 1984 yearbook.

Yet another yearbook with a Confederate soldier and the Confederate flag. This mascot logo was also on the gym wall.

The 1981 yearbook was not available at the public library, but we were able to find a digital version of the cover online. It too features the same cartoon Confederate soldier.

Students wear matching BCHS hoodies. That same cartoon Confederate soldier is displayed on the hoodies. These appear to be official BCHS clothes.

Two students take senior superlative photos posing with the Confederate flag.

Two students take senior superlative photos posing with the Confederate flag.

Perhaps the most damning piece of evidence found: the school newspaper used to be called the “Confederate”. The student led newspaper was referenced in all yearbooks we looked at, the furthest being 1972, just 9 years after the school doors opened and the Rebel name was picked.

As the caption says, the "Confederate" was sent out to the citizens of Danville along with the Advocate Messenger newspaper. The rest of the Confederate related photos speak for themselves.

Confederate members participated in Homecoming parade.

Confederate Staff

Faculty sponsor for the Confederate.

Confederate Staff

The Marching Rebels participate in a parade. Their banner features a Confederate hat and the Confederate flag.

The Marching Rebels participate in a parade. Their banner features a Confederate hat and the Confederate flag.

Here are the marching Rebels of Boyle County. At first I was shocked at the pages featuring them in the numerous yearbooks. The clothing they have on is extremely similar to Confederate soldier uniforms. Of course, the images are black and white so I had to do some digging to find out if these outfits matched the colors of Confederate uniforms. Thankfully, I was able to find an Advocate Messenger newspaper from 1984 that revealed the coats are not grey, but are in fact gold. These uniforms were also replaced with new ones in 1984. However, the confederate flag is still in the top right corner of the page.

I want to end by showing one last image. I don't know who made these boards or what they are for; the crowd seems to be a mix of students and faculty. One spot on the board has the Garrard County Lions, another has what I assume is the Anderson County Bearcats, and of course there is the Danville Admirals with their anchor. Boyle county is being represented only by the Confederate flag. Could you imagine being Black and this is the way your school is represented?

Further exposition from researcher Jordan Drake:

At this point, it is well known that the word rebel is associated with the Confederacy and appealing to the literal dictionary definition ignores all cultural and historical context surrounding the word and school name. The name “Rebel” was proposed in 1963 when the school first opened at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. During that time Confederate iconography – having lost some of its significance – gained more and more popularity in an attempt by white supremacists to intimidate and counter-protest black people seeking civil rights. States started flying the Confederate flag at courthouses, post offices, and schools, Confederate monuments were commissioned, schools all over the south changed their names to honor confederate war generals. In the middle of all of this, there was Boyle County High School picking the name “Rebel”. This historical context reasonably explains why the name Rebel may have been proposed and chosen; it was a popular word at the time and many were seeking to pay homage to the Confederacy or white supremacy in general.

At this point, it is undeniable that the Boyle County "Rebels" concept does have a close connection to the Confederacy. BCHS and its students weren't just using the word rebel to strictly mean the dictionary definition. No, almost immediately they associated themselves and the Rebels with Confederate iconography by using cartoon Confederate soldiers on yearbooks, sweatshirts, the gym wall, on posters, banners, and logos. They associated themselves with the Confederacy by literally naming their newspaper the "Confederate". They associated themselves with the Confederacy by normalizing the use of Confederate flags and symbols amongst the student body and faculty. If they genuinely had no interest in connecting with the Confederacy they would have chosen other routes to express school pride. They maybe even wouldn't have called themselves the Rebels, but they did, and this is the route they chose.

To BCHS's credit, they have made attempts to distance themselves from this past as it seems many don't know about it or don't remember. There is no longer a Confederate newspaper, the Confederate flag and soldiers are no longer on logos, clothing, yearbooks, or promotional material. In essence the only thing that remains is the name "Rebels", these images, and the memories of the students who attended the school. Though, the culture of using the Confederate flag and imagery is still popular amongst the student body.

From our FAQ:

There hasn’t been much written about the history of the Rebel as BCHS’ mascot. If you have images or memories of the Rebel mascot’s use, we invite you to share them.

Paraphrased from Boyle County High School's website:
“On September 3, 1963, Boyle County High School was born through the consolidation of schools from four districts (Perryville, Junction, Parksville and Forkland).

One of the decisions that had to be made was choosing the new school’s colors and mascot... The mascot was a more difficult decision to make; the choice was between the Brigadiers or the Rebels. After a vote from the senior class, the mascot was chosen, and the Rebel was born.”

It is not unimportant that 1963 was a pivotal moment in the nation’s Civil Rights Movement, and in fact was the very same year that Danville City Schools started to integrate. It was also the year of a contentious gubernatorial race between Ned Brethitt, Jr. and Louie Nunn in which civil rights and integration were a critical issue. Nunn, who ultimately lost the race, went so far as to say that his first act as governor would be to abolish the Fair Services Executive Order, which had desegregated public accommodations in Kentucky.

The decision to make the Rebel the school’s mascot took place against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, and it is impossible to deny that the choice was informed by white backlash to the events of this period. Depictions of the mascot included a Confederate flag until at least the mid 1980s. The school newspaper was called “The Confederate” from its inception.

In more recent decades the depiction of the BCHS Rebel has been revised, rendering its Confederate affiliation more ambiguous. In 2013 the school held a logo contest soliciting student designs, the winning entry is the version used today.

From the responses of signatories of our petition, it is clear that there are many students and alumni who are uncomfortable with and ashamed of the connotations of the Rebel mascot. There are perhaps thousands more graduates who spent their high school careers not fully aware of the racist implications, or worse, fully aware of and in support of it. Excellence in education requires confronting bigotry and teaching methods for expanding world views, rather than tacitly endorsing hatred.

It is time for our community to acknowledge the spirit of exclusion and racism embodied by this mascot, and to unequivocally declare that there is no place for it in our school.