The origin of the Colonel is a matter of myth, legend and speculation. Some hypothesize that the Colonel was actually a tribute to Blind Jim Ivy, the son of a former slave who became a beloved fixture on the Oxford campus until his death in 1955. Or perhaps Colonel Reb is just a remnant of the old South. A fine, upstanding Southern gentlemen; a plantation owner; a son of the confederacy - a rebel.
Whatever Colonel Reb was he is no more. Ole Miss students, alumni and season ticket holders voted to change the school's mascot to the Rebel Black Bear. Colonel Reb is out. From now on the mascot on the field on game day will be a big black bear.
The Rebel Black Bear was inspired by famous Oxford resident William Faulkner's Old Ben, from "The Bear," a short story in Go Down, Moses; and President Theodore Roosevelt's 1902 hunting trip to Mississippi, where he refused to shoot a bear.
Whatever...
I just don't see what the big deal was. Perhaps the Colonel was a reminder of the old South. Perhaps the battle cry chant sang at Ole Miss games The South Will Rise Again was a reminder of the old South. Perhaps the word Rebel (which didn't change) is a reminder of the old South. So what!
What part of O-L-D don't you understand?
The Colonel didn't block the entrance to the admission's office at the University of Mississippi in 1962 to prevent James Meredith from entering. Our state's governor at the time did. I don't see any petitions circulating to change the name of the Ross Barnett Reservoir to something less offensive...for if anything is offensive, Barnett's behavior should be at the top of the list, not a fictitious mascot whose origin is suspect, at best.
The Ole Miss post-James Meredith has educated students of all colors, backgrounds, religions and political affiliations and will continue to do so. It's an institution of higher learning; a market place of ideas and a repository of knowledge.
It can no more hide it's history than can the country we all call home.
What should have been far more offensive than Colonel Reb is our state's high school drop out rate, college completion rate, teen pregnancy rate or illiteracy rate.
Can we have a vote to change those stats... or will our history regarding these issues of paramount importance remain the same?
