An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States

was trying to make. Jones responded, “It’s obvious, this is the same thing
that goes on with the logo for the Cleveland Indians.” He pointed out the
hypocrisy of those who refuse to see the logo as anything other than racism.
“To have a problem with the logo of this would be to have a problem with
the Indians. But if you’re quiet about the Indians, and now have something
to say about my shirt, I think it’s time for introspection.” 29
Importantly, he also hit the nail on the head about the political economy
of racist mascots, by pointing out that the reason that the Cleveland
Baseball Team—or the Washington Football Team, for that matter—didn’t
get rid of their mascot is that they make money off it. Jones told the truth.
Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington Football Team, proclaimed as
recently as 2013 that he would never change the team name. 30 Even before
the removal of the image and mascot, the organization removed the statue
of the team’s founder, George Marshall, because he was an ardent racist.
When it happened, I wondered, “How can Snyder remove a racist statue but
not consider removing the logo?” We know why. For Dan Snyder and other
powerful billionaires and corporations, the symbolic support of tackling
white supremacy is useful only when it is in fashion.
I’m glad we are taking down other racist iconography and symbols. The
logos of Land O’ Lakes butter, which features a Native woman, is being
removed, as is the Black woman on the face of that diabesity liquid called
Aunt Jemima syrup. (I used to excuse the shit out of racism and pile the
liquid and butter on some pancakes and waffles!) I’m ecstatic that
NASCAR got rid of the Confederate flags. Let’s not forget Bree Newsome,
who in 2015 scaled a pole to take down the Confederate symbol flag in
South Carolina! She still the real MVP!
A point that we often miss or dilute about these symbols and why people
are upset is that they aren’t just about cultural appropriation. Cultural
appropriation means very little unless we frame it under neoliberalism—or
perhaps more precisely, under racial capitalism. Corporations, catering to
their largely white audiences, earn money by dehumanizing Indigenous
peoples. If companies and professional sports teams remove racist imagery,
it doesn’t necessarily mean that these billionaire corporations suddenly have
a conscience; we shouldn’t even be that excited about these minor changes.
It just means they understand they can no longer make money off racist
symbols.