STORIES AND COMMENTS
Since starting the petition, we've received numerous accounts of racist behavior and discrimination from members of the BCHS family. We've shared these below not to shame or place blame but to demonstrate that change is needed to ensure that Boyle County Schools are welcoming, rich learning environments for all.
Stories from students and alumni
"My senior year we were doing pre-game warmups and the other African-American on the team said, '“Hey look up there.. did you see that?”' The student section had a banner that said "100% Cotton." When I asked about it I was told, '“Not you, man; You are one of the good ones,”' which kinda made it worse. The insinuation was that, '"generally, your race is bad.”' Eventually, coaches or administration requested it be removed and it was.”
— '15 BCHS alum and football player
“I was a Sophomore at BCHS when the school opened. I was one of 7 black students. So you see we were in the minority. We were there when the mascot was chosen, when the school song was chosen, and we had a vote. How do you think our vote went? All this was chosen by the majority. Now if the table was turned, how would you feel? Racism was practiced and rubbed in our faces. We heard the “n-word" daily and had the confederate flag waved at some school events. Now all students were not this way, but there were enough who were. It’s time for the “Rebel” mascot to go. We’ve tolerated it too long.”
— BCHS alum
"As a minority student, I was met with anything from microaggressions to blatantly racist questions and comments on a daily basis by both teachers and my peers. The lack of diversity in the student body and faculty, which I assume to be a product of BCHS’s formation and modern school zoning policies, meant no one was there to call each other out. Thus, I was forced to speak for myself while complying to the social culture that the majority had imposed....At public school events, there were times when I saw members of our student body display racist and harmful messages that were broadcasted directly to the public audience. Themes of cultural appropriation were joined by hateful messages on signs and displays from our student section."
— '17 BCHS alum
"As a student, I witnessed or heard of many racist actions by fellow students, especially when there was a game against Danville High. One example among many is that I distinctly recall my repulsion upon learning that some Boyle students showed up to a game against Danville dressed as plantation owners. The fact that the “Rebels” were playing a school with a significant Black population tacitly encouraged such actions."
— '06 BCHS alum
"When I introduce myself as a Boyle student to Danville students or parents, there is an immediate reaction. This reaction is much more than a typical school rivalry. This mascot of a rebel, alluding to a Confederate soldier, is a message that needs to be in the past. I've had conversations with Black members in our community who look at the Boyle mascot and associate that with the students and staff, and how can they not?...It is very obvious to our community that Boyle County High has a majority white population. This fact makes it disgusting that I could hardly walk down the school hallways without hearing the N word. This language and attitude is not contained to the hallways. I have heard first-hand stories of this happening in more sports games than I could count."
— Current student
"I am signing due to the racist nature of Boyle County High School. I watched as several of my black friends were constantly being harassed by students and staff alike because of the color of their skin, while the administration and staff in charge did little to nothing. There was the incident where the predominantly Black Danville High School were playing a football game against the Boyle County Rebels. Our students and members of our crowd threw cotton on the field, mocking the horrors of slavery. And that's just one example."
— '17 BCHS alum
"I've always advocated for the rights of others since high school and still remember an interaction with someone from my graduating class my senior year, where a classmate of mine said that since the number of Black students went from 1, to 2, to 4 over the past 3 years, that "they were multiplying". I've always held onto that, remembered it."
— '05 BCHS alum
Stories from faculty and staff
"In the two short years that I taught at Boyle County, I witnessed students singing KKK songs (I asked them what they were singing, and they proudly informed me - so I didn't assume/misconstrue anything), someone wrote "for whites only" on the giant bench in the main entry hall (and there were literally two black students in the whole school), the rampant use of the confederate flag (a symbol of hatred, bigotry and racism - raised in the 1960's to intimidate the supporters of the Civil Rights Movement) and students/parents/small children screaming the n-word at the Danville Independent fans at the rival football game. Truthfully, it was an eye-opening two years for me. As a suburban white woman, I didn't realize that blatant racism was still alive and openly accepted until I arrived in Boyle County. I was appalled, disgusted, and felt helpless to stop it - and as soon as I found a job opportunity in a more diverse school district, I left. My hope is that things have changed in the 15+ years that I have been gone...but the pessimist in me knows better. Changing the mascot and renouncing the usage of the confederate flag is a small start to the changes that need to happen."
— '01-03 faculty
"The Rebels mascot is not ok. It never was and it certainly isn't any longer. We can't keep calling our youths confederate Rebels and expect them to grow up without some piece of entitlement and segregation that is not acceptable. I remember when the visual of the mascot changed, from a detailed soldier to a man on horse back. It is time to make a larger change and send a different message."
— Former football trainer
Stories from community members
"I have seen cotton t shirts with them saying 'Thanks Danville for picking the cotton.' They have worn a gorilla suit in the student section regardless of the theme. They have left a poster board sized food stamp drawing for the basketball team to find when they got back on the bus. They have shouted build the wall at a hispanic player shooting free throws which is obviously calling for deportation, not support of the president. They had a student section where they wore fast food uniforms and made it known that it was because Danville students only worked at fast food after graduation. Countless micro-aggressions and referring to my teammates as undisciplined or "boy". Just the name Rebel may not be bad, but couple it with the history of the Confederate flag, routine racial comments made by many members of the school, and student section decisions, it is very obvious that the school has had racial roots that still last today. The logo change did not change the mindset of the administrators in the school who let the students get away with anything and they are "kids being kids". Everyone knows Danville and Boyle often try to paint each others' anchor and bell the week of the rivalry game. When Boyle kids were caught, it is a playful joke and everything went on. However when Danville kids did the same they were threatened with charges being pressed and flyers with their picture and name were passed around Boyle County's high school by the administration. I am not sure if any were minors at the time but the administration acting like that is appalling and disgusting. The experiences that I have seen from Boyle County personally and from my friends of different races makes my heart hurt. I would never send my children to a school that was not diverse because of the issues I have experienced at this school. Some of these may be inadvertent, but the lack of discipline for any of these occurrences is quite telling."
— '17 DHS alum
"I witnessed the racist things that came from people representing this mascot. Came to our games, threw bananas on our field, wore 100% cotton thanks Danville shirts, etc."
— DHS alum
"As a graduate of Danville High School, this is a much needed change. Luckily the media wasn’t covering the Danville/Boyle “100% Cotton Thanks Danville” shirts."
— DHS alum