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.

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.

In Season Two of Rebel Spirit, Akilah Hughes picks up where her battle to change her high school’s Confederate mascot left off and quickly realizes the problem was never just a mascot. Shifting from her high school still clinging to the “Rebels” name to the long fight over a Jefferson Davis statue in the Kentucky State Capitol, Season Two expands into a sharp, funny, and deeply reported investigation into how America decides what, and who, it chooses to honor. Along the way, Akilah speaks with politicians from both sides of the aisle about their support for change, historians who help contextualize the fight to remove Confederate monuments, and artists who are part of building monuments their whole community can be proud of. All in an effort to answer this season's big question, if we’re willing to tear down racist monuments, why is it so hard to replace them with something better? 

In Season Two of Rebel Spirit, Akilah Hughes picks up where her battle to change her high school&rsquo;s Confederate mascot left off and quickly realizes the problem was never just a mascot. Shifting from her high school still clinging to the &ldquo;Rebels&rdquo; name to the long fight over a Jefferson Davis statue in the Kentucky State Capitol, Season Two expands into a sharp, funny, and deeply reported investigation into how America decides what, and who, it chooses to honor. Along the way, Akilah speaks with politicians from both sides of the aisle about their support for change, historians who help contextualize the fight to remove Confederate monuments, and artists who are part of building monuments their whole community can be proud of. All in an effort to answer this season's big question, if we&rsquo;re willing to tear down racist monuments, why is it so hard to replace them with something better?&nbsp;

Rebel Spirit

Episode 5: Mascots

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/125c9d11-c98f-48eb-b1ee-b1f601525d9d/transcript

This season, Akilah takes her fight to the Kentucky State House in an attempt to replace a recently removed Confederate statue with a monument everyone can be proud of. Grounded in her own lived experiences, Season Two explores how monuments aren’t just markers of history -- they’re battlegrounds for the values we’re still negotiating today. Tune in when the new season premieres May 19.

This season, Akilah takes her fight to the Kentucky State House in an attempt to replace a recently removed Confederate statue with a monument everyone can be proud of. Grounded in her own lived experiences, Season Two explores how monuments aren&rsquo;t just markers of history -- they&rsquo;re battlegrounds for the values we&rsquo;re still negotiating today. Tune in when the new season premieres May 19.

Coming Soon... Rebel Spirit Season 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/dd7d9d8b-e9b3-45c3-967c-b441010c7fa3/transcript

It's the last episode of the season, and Akilah is thinking about her home, Florence, Kentucky. Over the course of our reporting, we've been told how much the town and county are changing, how much more diverse they're getting. What does the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and diversity mean for Florence? What does it mean for all of us? One last open record request underscores what we're up against, even as the battle feels larger than ever.

To view a selection of the open records we received from the school, along with bonus content for other episodes, visit our new website: https://rebelspiritpodcast.com

If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com.

We would love to talk to you!

Correction: We reference Linda McMahon as Education Secretary in this episode, as of publishing she is just the nomination.

It's the last episode of the season, and Akilah is thinking about her home, Florence, Kentucky. Over the course of our reporting, we've been told how much the town and county&nbsp;are changing, how much more diverse they're getting. What does the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and diversity mean for Florence? What does it mean for all of us? One last open record request underscores what we're up against, even as the battle feels larger than ever.
To view a selection of the open records we received from the school, along with bonus content for other episodes, visit our new website:&nbsp;<a href="https://rebelspiritpodcast.com/about/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://rebelspiritpodcast.com/about/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1739311975551000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3yaxJqIGkdaOn8qAKPNDjU">https://rebelspiritpodcast.com</a>
If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot and want to share your own experience, please email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com">rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com.</a>
We would love to talk to you!
Correction: We reference Linda McMahon as Education Secretary in this episode, as of publishing she is just the nomination.

Episode 12: Erasures 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2eb16bd4-6182-45f2-9bad-b28f0056699e/transcript

Since our last episode, we've heard rumors coming out of Boone County: there WILL be a new mascot; there definitely will NOT be a new mascot; the new superintendent wants to know what's going on; there are meetings happening. We've tried hard to get anyone at the school district or the high school to talk with us, so we can find out what's real and what isn't, but nobody will. And so this episode Akilah asks: is there another way to find out what folks are saying?

To view a selection of the open records we received from the school, along with bonus content for other episodes, visit our new website: https://rebelspiritpodcast.com

If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com.

We would love to talk to you!

Since our last episode, we've heard rumors coming out of Boone County: there WILL be a new mascot; there definitely will NOT be a new mascot; the new superintendent wants to know what's going on; there are meetings happening. We've tried hard to get anyone at the school district or the high school to talk with us, so we can&nbsp;find out what's real and what isn't, but nobody will. And so this episode Akilah asks: is there another way to find out what folks are saying?
To view a selection of the open records we received from the school, along with bonus content for other episodes, visit our new website: <a href="https://rebelspiritpodcast.com/about/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://rebelspiritpodcast.com/about/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1739311975551000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3yaxJqIGkdaOn8qAKPNDjU">https://rebelspiritpodcast.com</a>
If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot and want to share your own experience, please email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com">rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com.</a>
We would love to talk to you!

Episode 11: Open Records

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/88482eb4-3d5b-4b11-b2b1-b280016d8c1a/transcript

Episode 5: Mascots

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