"No, no, he's just helping a tired Indian lie down"

Ah, Whitesboro, where the locals have voted overwhelmingly to keep an image of a white guy strangling a red guy as their city seal.

To be fair, the story is a bit more … less awful than that sounds.

'Whitesboro’s website says the emblem dates to the early 1900s and depicts a friendly wrestling match between village founder Hugh White and an Oneida Indian. It says White won the match and the lasting respect and goodwill of the Oneidas.'

They're just wrestling. Got it.

And also to be fair, if you are a resident of Whitesboro, this is symbolism and myth that you've probably grown up with all your life, so it's axiomatically not racist. And I actually believe that it's not really seen by most (I hope) Whitesboro that way.

But it's seen that way by folk from outside Whitesboro. As enhanced by the name of your town, which is also, clearly, totally innocuous.

A word to the wise of Whitesboro: optics matter. You know this is a friendly wrestle. You know this is about a guy whose actual name was White. But people who don't know the story look at it and see a white guy strangling an Indian. Which I assume you agree is not a cool thing.

I suggest a change in logo is in order. Tell the story of the wrestling match if you want — it's great local color. But if you want to emphasize how Mr White earned "the lasting respect and goodwill of the Oneidas," maybe something that shows them getting along together would be a bit more … positive.

Village of Whitesboro Votes to Keep Racist Seal of White Man Strangling Native American Man
Yes, this is the official seal of Whitesboro, New York. And it will likely continue to be. According to Whitesboro’s mayor, the residents just voted 157-55 to keep using this symbol to represent themselves to the world.

View on Google+