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MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2002

"In 1992 The Post endorsed a movement to change the team's name. WTOP radio refused to say "Redskin" on the air for two years. But Jack Kent Cooke arrogantly proclaimed, "I will never change the name," and he didn't. And the movement faded.

That may happen again despite strong votes by the region's elected officials requesting a name change. But as The Post stated in that 1992 editorial, "To say that the use of the term 'Redskin' is well-intentioned or that it is not meant to be objectionable, sidesteps the real issue. This is not a term fashioned by American Indians. The nickname was assigned to them, just as the pejorative designation 'darkies' was once imposed on African American slaves. That was wrong then; and this is wrong now. . . . We can do better."

The times -- and our sensitivities -- require that we do."

Get the Story:
Carol Schwartz: Name Shame (The Washington Post 3/3)

Relevant Links:
Redskins - http://www.redskins.com

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Letters: More on Redskins name (1/18)
Redskins name OK if it offends (1/17)
As If: Replace Redskins logo (1/15)
Editorial: Redskins honors Native people (1/14)
Letters: Debate over Redskins name (1/14)
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