Friday, May 30th, was a cool crisp day in the Long Island suburb of Massapequa Township. The air was electric.
For the last two years, the Town has been targeted by the New York Board of Regents which directs the state’s K-12 education system. Its schools faced a loss of state funding. Its School Board members were threatened with legal removal.
Their grave sin? The local high school features a symbol of an Indian warrior and its teams are called “the Chiefs.” Therefore, the school system is in violation of the Board’s regulation which forbids NY schools to use Native names, symbols or imagery.
The absurdity of this situation is almost impossible to overstate. Massapequa is named after a past Indian tribe, whose leader is still celebrated today. The symbol of “the Chief” is the Town’s logo, proudly worn by its police and fire personnel.
But the Board of Regents has committed to banning it … or, alternatively, depriving 10,000 children of public instruction already paid for by their parents’ taxes.
You can’t make this !@$!@# up.
Enter my client: the Native American Guardians Association, a Native-based 501(c)(3) which seeks to preserve, not eliminate, the images and history of America’s native tribes.
On Thursday, May 29, my legal team filed a civil action in U.S. District Court, New York on behalf of NAGA. Our suit seeks to enjoin the Board’s action — the Native Name Ban – as a plain violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically “the Equal Protection Clause,” because it singles out one racial group for erasure, while allowing other historic groups, e.g. Spartans, Vikings, or Fighting Irish, to be celebrated.
On Friday, myself and three members of the NAGA Board — enrolled members of Native tribes — appeared at Massapequa High School at a rally in support of the Chiefs.
Frank Black Cloud of the Spirit Lake Lakota spoke to the gathered students against the ill-conceived campaign to “erase” the Native image from American life and history, as well as the need to educate America’s youth on the positive legacy of America’s tribes. He then calmly answered questions from the press, many of whom still propagate the outdated myth that Native Americans are “offended” by the use of Native names and symbols.
Also present was the U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who announced that her Office of Civil Rights had deemed New York’s heavy-handed threats a violation of “Title VI” of the Civil Rights Acts, which prohibits the denial of public education on racially discriminatory grounds. In other words, the State must fund the local schools or it will face a civil rights suit from the Department of Justice — and it will lose.
Funny how the tide can turn in 24 hours.
There’s a saying in Massapequa: Once a Chief, Always a Chief. By the time this case is over, that slogan may have a national ring to it.
JCP Notes: Friday night in New York, Sharon and I had a chance to see the musical “Hamilton” in New York City. (No, I had not seen it before). A show with great energy and sparkling dialogue. It depicts the Founding Fathers, who were all white, with a cast made up exclusively of minorities. The point is not to ridicule the Founding Father but to celebrate their achievements as universal. There’s a lesson there …
Finally, I wanted to recognize the life and passing of Jerrauld Jones of Norfolk. Jerrauld was a senior Democrat in the House of Delegates when I joined that little band in 2001. (We had only 34 members!) Jerrauld was a great orator and a self-effacing leader. He took me under his wing early on and I learned a lot. (Also shout out to Ken Melvin and Ward Armstrong, who were my early heroes). He went on to become a Circuit Court judge in Norfolk and was the best of men.
