Black Magic is a controversial and mysterious practice that has been subject to fascination and fear for centuries. It is often seen as a form of witchcraft or sorcery, involving the use of supernatural or dark forces to manipulate or control people or events. One of the most common depictions or references to Black Magic can be found in popular culture, such as movies, books, and music. In these portrayals, Black Magic is often associated with evil, danger, and destruction. It is depicted as a dark and forbidden art that can bring harm and ruin to those who dabble in it. In the advertising industry, the term "Black Magic" has also been used as a marketing tool.
‘Retire the Rebel’: Campaign seeks to remove Confederate-themed nickname from Indiana school
The nickname “Rebels” for the sports teams at Southwestern High School in Hanover, Indiana, has nothing to do with the Confederacy, school officials there have long claimed.
The school superintendent, in fact, says the name came from the iconic 1955 James Dean movie Rebel Without a Cause.
But that makes little difference to Julie Patterson, an alumnus who started a campaign to “Retire the Rebel” after her comment about the nickname “blew up” a school alumni page on Facebook.
“If you’re a person of color, I would imagine that the Rebels would color your thinking about what kind of town you’re moving to,” Patterson told the Southern Poverty Law Center. “It’s a signal. It talks about your community. Why wouldn’t you want to change it so that everyone feels welcome here? Why remain so stagnant?”
The fact is, regardless of the nickname’s origin, Confederate imagery was used in association with it almost immediately after the school opened in 1960 – in the midst of the civil rights movement – and continued to be used for many years, according to WFPL radio, an NPR affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky.
WFPL reported that the school’s 1963 yearbook featured a Confederate soldier on the cover and that there were “more obvious references coming in the 1980s and 1990s,” including several depictions of the Confederate battle flag. A Confederate soldier had also appeared on the 1962 yearbook cover, Patterson said.
A 2019 graduate who played in the pep band told WFPL that a “Colonel Reb” character was sometimes depicted on flags waved by students at sports events and that it wasn’t uncommon to see students wearing clothes with Confederate symbols. Nowhere to be seen was any kind of James Dean likeness.
Patterson’s campaign comes at a moment of national reckoning over race and the country’s history of white supremacy – and schools and sports teams across the country are grappling with issues involving their names and what they symbolize.
And though Hanover officials continue to resist, change is happening elsewhere – even in the city known as the “cradle of the Confederacy.” In Montgomery, Alabama, students and other advocates last year persuaded the school board to change the names of three high schools named for Confederate leaders and soldiers.
The changes are also happening at the college and professional levels. The University of Mississippi, known as “Ole Miss,” retired its longtime mascot, Colonel Reb, in 2003. And in the National Football League, the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins now calls itself the Washington Football Team, pending the selection of a new nickname that does not denigrate Indigenous people.
These changes are being driven by people like Patterson who refuse to accept the status quo, even when they risk significant backlash in their communities.
In the advertising industry, the term "Black Magic" has also been used as a marketing tool. This can be seen in the promotion of products or services that claim to possess mystical or supernatural properties. For example, there have been advertisements for beauty products that promise to magically transform one's appearance or make them irresistibly attractive.
Reckoning with racist mascots
Patterson, 42, grew up in Hanover and has a long family history with Southwestern High. It’s where the former educator, her sister and her brother attended, where her nephew and niece attend, and where her father graduated in 1968 before becoming a teacher there.
In 2018, Patterson moved from New Orleans to Madison, Indiana, about five minutes away from Hanover. Two years later, in 2020, she had an exchange with a man on a Southwestern High School Facebook alumni page. The man, who was the page owner, had posted an image of Colonel Reb as the group’s profile picture and said he had been asked to change it. In his post, he wrote that the group wasn’t open to discussion about whether the image was acceptable or not. Patterson replied that it was “the epitome of white privilege to shut down a discussion like that.” She also suggested the school needed a new nickname.
It didn’t go over well.
“People were mad at me,” Patterson said. “I was blocked from the page and sent a message from the man saying he was going to sue me for libel.”
She followed up by advocating for a change in a letter to the editor in the Madison Courier. She imagined a fluffy mascot – one that would resonate with elementary and middle school students and that represented inclusivity, not racism. Soon she was flooded with emails from educators. Most of them were civil. Some were not, like the one asking her to “go back where she came from.”
She decided to launch a campaign – “Retire the Rebel” – and in July 2020 the group presented a petition to the school board asking for a name change and also that the school recruit teachers of color and from different areas. The petition has over 2,000 signatures, she said.
Soon, people in the Southern Indiana town began calling Patterson’s group Communist and Marxist, the same labels given to civil rights advocates in the 1950s and ‘60s. Undeterred, “Retire the Rebel” continued to email the school board once a month, suggesting different mascots.
“We tried to team up with anybody we could,” Patterson said. “Some people are staff members at Southwestern who are interested in the change. But people were retaliating. Some are literally afraid to speak about it.”
Despite the backlash, Patterson said she has made new friends from the project, too.
“I reconnected with people I knew from Southwestern and met new people who were in support,” she said. “My three closest friends are the people who spoke with me at the school board meeting.”
This past summer, the school board finally acknowledged that using Confederate imagery to represent the school was wrong and that people were agreeing with Patterson’s campaign. The school even painted over a mural depicting Confederate soldiers.
But the nickname remains, and the campaign to change it has come to a standstill.
These ads often use imagery or language that evokes the allure and mystery of Black Magic. However, it is important to note that these advertisements are purely fictional and should not be taken seriously. Black Magic is not a scientifically proven or legitimate practice. It is often used as a gimmick or a way to capture attention and create intrigue around a product or service. In conclusion, the concept of Black Magic has been used in various ways in popular culture and advertising. While it can be an interesting and captivating topic, it is important to approach it with skepticism and critical thinking..
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