Fort Smith board votes to end Rebel mascot, 'Dixie' song

LITTLE ROCK -- A school board in northwestern Arkansas has voted to drop a controversial high school mascot and direct its band to no longer play "Dixie" as a fight song.

The Fort Smith School Board met Monday night to consider changes for Southside High School. A district spokeswoman says the board voted 7-0 to drop "Dixie" immediately and to phase out the "Johnny Reb" mascot over a year.

Fort Smith School board members have said a recurring discussion of changing the fight song and Rebel mascot reignited after the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where the pastor and eight black church members were killed in June. A board committee voted less than a week later to send a proposal to drop both symbols because of their Confederate ties.

The community has had mixed reactions to the decision. Some alumni say the board is making a rash decision that throws out decades of tradition. Others say the district that borders Oklahoma needs to let go of the symbols.

School Board President Deanie Mehl said after the 90 minutes of debate at the public hearing before the vote, the district is ready to move forward.

"This was an issue that I think was very painful for both sides. A large portion of Fort Smith, when they hear the fight song, "Dixie," or they see Johnny Reb, they see it as a reminder of a phenomenal high school," Mehl said. "I think there are unfortunately people around the country that hear that song or see that symbol and they do have those negative thoughts."

The district is now preparing to respond to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Sebastian County Circuit Court that challenges the changes. The lawsuit, brought by Fort Smith resident and mascot supporter Curtis E. Sorrels, alleges that the committee vote on June 23 to send the issue to the full school board is invalid because it violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act notice requirements.

State Desk on 07/28/2015

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