Education Department Slams Woke Mascot Rename Hiding ‘Native American Symbolism’

The Department of Education (ED) says that a woke school district violated the Civil Rights Act by an idiotic manipulation of its mascot’s name to hide the fact that the name has symbolism for native tribes.

The Connetquot Central School District in Long Island, N.Y., traditionally calls itself the “Thunderbirds,” having adopted the powerful magical character out of some Native American Indian tribes’ myths. In a ridiculous and laughable move to pander to woke ideology, the school district shortened the name to “T-birds,” which means absolutely nothing. Then again, the more meaningless it is, the more leftists will love it.

It might perhaps be a little bit overzealous for ED to investigate and find the district guilty under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but then again, leftists want to politicize everything in schools while still retaining unrestricted federal taxpayer money. That is neither reasonable nor just. If the schools want to keep receiving money from the Trump administration, the least they can do is adjust their policies accordingly — or at least refrain from obviously idiotic moves like “T-Birds.”

Democrats never really change in fundamentals, and one of the ways they have not changed is that they still want to erase black Americans and Native American Indians and symbols associated with their history from mascots, logos, and other tributes. They erased Aunt Jemima, who rose from slavery to be the first living trademark, Blackfeet tribal chief John Two Guns White Calf, whom the Redskins logo once honored, Uncle Ben, and James Baskett, the first black actor to win an Oscar, among others.

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In New York, the erasure has reached a whole new level of silliness, according to ED’s Office of Civil Rights:

OCR previously determined in May 2025 that the New York State Education Department and Board of Regents (the Board)’s  regulation banning Native American imagery violated Title VI. The regulation prohibited names, mascots, or logos based on Native American race and national origin, while allowing the use of those derived from different racial or ethnic groups, such as “Dutchmen” and “Huguenots,” thereby unlawfully implementing race- and national-origin-based classifications in education policy. In September 2025, the District’s Board affirmed compliance with New York’s regulation and approved a settlement agreement to change its team name from the traditional “Thunderbirds” to “T-Birds.” OCR concluded that by abandoning its Native American name to comply with a discriminatory rule, the District engaged in race- and national-origin-based discrimination in violation of Title VI. 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey insisted, “Today, we found Connetquot Central School District in violation of Title VI for erasing its Native American heritage to comply with a discriminatory New York state regulation. We will not allow ideologues to decide that some mascots based on national origin are acceptable while others are banned. Equal treatment under the law is non-negotiable.”

Maybe the “T-Birds” can stop making fools out of themselves now.

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