Rebel Spirit
Rebel Spirit
Rebel Spirit is a brand new podcast series from Akilah Hughes (Crooked Media’s “What a Day”) about her return to her small town of Florence, Kentucky with a mission to change her high school’s mascot from a Confederate General into a Biscuit. The show features moving interviews with everyone from the artist behind “Gritty,” The Philadelphia Flyers’ viral mascot, to principals at schools across the…Social links:
Follow the podcast:
Episode 10: Stay Free
Akilah returns to Florence for one last push toward change as she speaks at the final Boone County High School SBDC meeting of the school year, which just so happens to be on Juneteenth. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and w…
42:53
Looking Back
As we finish up our next episode, and given that everyone’s minds are probably occupied with the Election today, the Rebel Spirit team wanted to take a moment to look back on the process of making this podcast over the last year. Akilah sat down with producers Dan Sinker and Elizabeth Baquet for a …
33:57
Episode 9: So Disappointing
After so much research and work, it is clear that this uphill battle is not coming to a close soon as Akilah finally gets to speak in front of the school. How do you keep fighting for change when endless roadblocks keep getting in the way? How do you stay positive when progress seems to be moving b…
38:25
Episode 8: Shaun
The biggest advice Akilah has gotten for changing the Rebels mascot has been to get in touch with NFL MVP running back and Boone County High School alum, Shaun Alexander. Using the unfortunate power of Facebook, Akilah gets pretty darn close to that goal.
37:03
Episode 7: Denver South
In a set of riveting interviews with a determined high school principal and an NFL star, Calais Campbell, Akilah gets schooled on the successful process that changed the Denver South High School Rebels into the Ravens.
33:44
Episode 6: Other Rebels
By now we’ve learned that changing the Rebels mascot and team name is a difficult process. For guidance and inspiration, Akilah turns to other former Rebels who didn’t take no for an answer and pushed for their schools to make a change.
34:05
Episode 5: Mascots
If you’re going to create a new mascot, you’ve gotta talk to the experts. In this episode, Akilah speaks with the creators of Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls’ mascot, and Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, about how to successfully bring a new mascot to life.
36:38
Episode 4: Y'All or Nothing
Taking a step back from Akilah’s campaign, we spend some time with a local minor league baseball franchise, The Florence Y’All’s, and hear all about how they were able to rebrand their team name from something blah to something more inclusive–which led to a positive impact in every area of their bu…
35:03
Episode 3: Half Measures
In speaking to alumni from Boone County High School willing to share their experiences across multiple decades, a clearer image of all the half-measures taken to remove the confederate imagery and racist symbols from the school emerges–even as the name “Rebels” remains. If you have a racist masco…
35:40
Episode 2: History Lessons
After dubious claims from the school board about the origin of the Rebels team name, Akilah dives deep into the history of the high school, the influence of classic cinema, and the term Rebel historically in the south. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high sch…
39:37