The Greater Essex County District School Board is rebranding Riverside Secondary School.
The team name, "the Rebels" will be removed from the school and the mascot Captain Rebel will no longer be used.
The board is making the move in an effort to dismantle systemic racism in the school system and create a more inclusive environment.
According to a statement on the its website, the board says it is "ethically and legally compelled to immediately and completely remove the team name, Rebels, from Riverside Secondary School and to discontinue the use of the mascot 'Captain Rebel.'"
Historically, the Rebel name and related symbols are connected to the Confederacy, which fought to retain the enslavement of Black people. The Confederate army also appropriated the name of the Comanche Nation in relation to the 'battle cry' based on harmful anti-Indigenous stereotypes. The Riverside Secondary School spirit song references the battle cry and the RSS logo features a feather.
"The GECDSB acknowledges and sincerely apologizes for the harms caused by the adoption and retention of the Rebel name and related representations," the statement reads.
The board will be launching a process to select a new name and brand for the east end high school.
