The District of Columbia’s ceremonial member of Congress says Martin Luther King Jr. would support changing the Washington Redskins team name.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a non-voting participant in Congress, appears in an ad financed by casino magnate, disputed Oneida Indian Nation leader and anti-Redskins activist Ray Halbritter timed for Martin Luther King Day. The ad began airing this past weekend in Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Denver.
Though rolled out for Martin Luther King Day, the ad is part of a recharged anti-Redskins media offensive. Halbritter is plotting to get his cause back in the headlines during the media’s Super Bowl coverage, an insider told TheDC.
“Many of our residents like me were part of the civil rights movement…We recognize that the ‘Change the Mascot’ campaign and the use of the ‘R’ word is both a moral and a civil rights issue,” Holmes Norton said in the ad, using the term “R-word” instead of “Redskins.”
“We have no doubt that if Martin Luther King, Jr. could speak today, he would lend his support to the current efforts of our Native American brothers and sisters,” Holmes Norton said.
“We know from our history as African-Americans in this country that offensive terms not only should, but can, be cast aside if we do not retreat into silence. The Washington football team should change the mascot,” Holmes Norton said.
Halbritter praised Holmes Norton’s participation in a news release.
The Daily Caller has reported extensively on Halbritter’s efforts to change the Redskins name, previously revealing that Halbritter is not a legitimate member of the tribe he leads, but rather an Obama fundraiser guest who runs an abusive tribal government, according to Oneida tribespeople. President Obama and NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas, whose network partners with Halbritter’s New York casino, have both weighed in and recommended changing the name.
71 percent of Americans do not think the Redskins should change their team name, according to a poll released earlier this month.