Episode 11: Open Records
published February 11, 2025
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!
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Episode Extras
Here's a look at the size of the stack of documents we ended up with after our open records requests to the Boone County School District. Yes, that top folder is the "old cranks" file.
Speaking of that file, here's a small selection of the many letters in the file, including the ones we read on this episode.
Of course it wasn't just emails from old cranks. Sifting through all the noise, we discovered that teachers and administrators from Boone County were discussing the mascot, even holding a couple meetings last spring. And then we found this single page, sharing a Google slideshow enticingly titled "BCHS Mascot Rebrand FINAL OPTIONS."
And so we filed an open records request for that slideshow. Here it is, in its entirety.
Finally, there was one letter in the big pile that we kept coming back to. This one, from a student, sent back in March of 2023, back before we'd come to Florence, before we started reporting, before anything. They just want to have pride in their school again. So do we.
