Change the Mascot’s New Thanksgiving-Themed Ad to Air in Detroit and Baltimore Surrounding Holiday Football Games
Oneida Nation Homelands, NY (PRWEB) November 26, 2013 -- The Oneida Indian Nation today launched a new Thanksgiving-themed radio ad calling for an end to the Washington NFL team’s use of the R-word. Part of the Nation’s Change the Mascot campaign, the latest ad will air on Baltimore’s WBAL-AM and Detroit’s WXYT-FM in the lead-up to the cities’ Thanksgiving Day NFL games.
Entitled “Giving Thanks,” the new radio spot is the first from the campaign to surround NFL games that don’t directly involve the Washington team. Previous ads have run in the nation’s capital and other cities where the D.C. team has played road games, and will continue throughout the remainder of the NFL season.
In the new advertisement, Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter celebrates the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday and extends the Nation’s gratitude to those who have spoken out against Washington’s team name.
“Thanksgiving is a holiday emphasizing the ideals of inclusion and mutual respect, and is a time when we give thanks. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who has spoken out about the important moral and civil rights issue of changing the Washington football team’s name,” said Halbritter. “Change the Mascot supporters have sent a powerful message to the NFL that no group deserves to be treated as the target of a hurtful racial slur, and that Native Americans should be treated as what we are: Americans.”
Launched by the Oneida Indian Nation, Change the Mascot is a growing national campaign to end the Washington NFL team’s use of the R-word. The grassroots movement has attracted supporters from all across the country and prompted numerous leading publications to halt their use of the team’s name. Learn more about the Change the Mascot campaign at http://www.changethemascot.org or at https://twitter.com/ChangeDCMascot.
Full text of the Giving Thanks ad:
VOICEOVER: “I'm Ray Halbritter of the Oneida Indian Nation. Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate the ideals of mutual respect between Native Americans and their surrounding communities and to give thanks.
"In that spirit, we express our gratitude to everyone who has stood up in support of an important civil rights issue - changing the Washington NFL team's name.
"We give thanks to the civil rights and religious leaders, sports icons, members of the media, lawmakers from both parties, the President of the United States, and Americans from all walks of life who have spoken out against the continued use of Washington's racist mascot. We are deeply thankful that this moral and civil rights issue has expanded into a national debate.
"It has been particularly inspiring to see young people leading on this issue: the students of Cooperstown High School in New York admirably voting to change their mascot and school newspapers from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania have decided to stop using the R-word.
"The supporters of change have sent a powerful message to the NFL. They have said that no group deserves to be treated as a target of a racial slur. They have said Native Americans deserve to be treated as what we are: Americans.”
Brett Stagnitti, Oneida Indian Nation, +1 315-829-8310, [email protected]
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