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THE GREAT AMERICAN REBRANDING

WARM-UP
Look at these pictures. Do you recognise them?
Each picture is connected to a controversy. What do you think the controversy
is about? Have you heard anything about them? Write your ideas in
the spaces provided.

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Read the article “The Great American Rebranding”. Did you guess correctly?

What is your opinion of each of the name changes discussed in the article?

TRUE OR FALSE?
Decide if each of the following statements is true or false, based on the article:

1 The names of sports teams like the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves are controversial.
T    F 

2 Many Native Americans do not use that term for themselves.

T    F 

3 Washington’s American football team was one of the first to allow black players.
T    F 

4 The Washington Redskins are planning to remove references to Native Americans from their name and logo.
T    F 

5 The main reason for rebranding Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima is the pictures of slaves on the packaging.
T    F 

6 The man on the Cream of Wheat packaging was a chef from Chicago.

T    F 

7 Some US army bases are named after military leaders on the losing side in the American Civil War.
T    F 

8 Seven US states still use flags based on the flag of the Confederacy.

T    F 

9 These days everyone agrees that the nickname for the southern US, Dixie, is a racist term.
T    F 

JANUARY–FEBRUARY
2021
The images are for illustrative purposes only.

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OTHER CONTROVERSIES
Controversies about cultural change are neither new nor
uncommon – and they are not limited to the US. Here are
six more images connected to similar controversies. Do you
know or can you guess anything about each one?
1 Prague from the Nazis in 1945. After the war he was head
2 the asterisks). (
3 4
5 6
A Some groups argue that it should not be changed to be
politically correct.
B He was also in charge of Operation Whirlwind, which
crushed the anti-Soviet Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
C It was written in 1851 by a white songwriter to be
performed by white singers in black face paint, known as
minstrels.
D The brand was accused of racism.
E The name came from a children’s rhyme now known as
“Ten little soldier boys”.
F It focused a lot of attention on the issue, as he intended,
but not all of it was supportive.
G In 2017, the brand changed the design, editing out
the cross on the roof of the church.
H Some people were angry that the company was being
too political.
BRIDGE JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2021
Match each of the texts to the correct picture. One
sentence has been removed from each text. Choose
the correct sentence for each gap from the ones
underneath. There are two that you will not use.
a General Ivan Konev led the Red Army troops that liberated
of the Soviet occupation forces in Eastern Germany,
responsible for closing West Berlin to East Berliners.
( ) A monument to Konev was removed from Prague
in 2020, causing a diplomatic incident with Russia.
b Agatha Christie’s most successful novel was originally
published in 1939 as Ten Little N*****s (without
) The original name was never used
in the US and has not been used in English since 1977, but
some foreign-language translations continue to use it
today. In 2020, the French edition was renamed as Ils
Etaient Dix ( They Were Ten) instead of Dix Petits Negres.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy responded by
saying, “Do we have the right to say ‘monkey’?”
c From the 1980s, the clothing company Benetton was
famous for controversial ad campaigns. In 2000, the
company made a set of ads showing people who were
on Death Row (waiting to be executed in the US). ( )
Others felt it was using real human pain to sell clothes.
Major US shops refused to sell Benetton clothes. The
advertising director was fired and Benetton stopped
making politically provocative ads.
d “Old Folks at Home”, also known as “Suwannee River”,
is a famous song about a former slave. The lyrics make
a slave’s life sound happy. ( ) The original lyrics are
in a stereotyped African-American dialect (“de Swanee
Ribber” instead of “the Suwannee River”). These days,
singers usually use updated lyrics (for example, “my
childhood station” instead of “the old plantation”).
e Lidl offers a range of Greek speciality foods, originally
sold in packaging featuring Anastasis Church on
the island of Santorini. ( ) This was to make
the imagery “religiously neutral”, possibly due to
research showing that people react negatively to
religious symbols in marketing. A social media campaign
by angry Christians led Lidl to apologise and replace
the image with different, non‑religious buildings.
f In 2016, professional American footballer Colin
Kaepernick began kneeling instead of standing for
the national anthem as a protest against racist violence
by the police. ( ) Many people, including the US
President at the time, said he should be sacked for
criticising the police and disrespecting the national
anthem. He lost his contract and has not been able to
play professionally since.
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DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS
Here are some things people say about freedom of speech, political correctness and so on.
For each one, think about whether you agree or disagree and how strongly, and mark your opinion on the line.

Then find someone in your class with very different answers to yours for at least one of the statements
and talk about why you disagree.
Words and images are not actions. They don’t hurt anyone. Emotional pain is a matter of chemicals and electrical signals
My freedom to swing my fist ends a millimetre from your in the body, the same as physical pain. There isn’t a meaningful
face. As long as I’m not harming you, I can do and say as I like. difference between physical and emotional abuse.

Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly strongly strongly

I don’t have to respect your culture in my own country – you Political correctness is just about treating other people as
have to respect mine. I’ll respect your culture when I’m in you would like others to treat you. It’s nothing extreme. It’s
your country. It’s like being at home or being a guest. just old-fashioned politeness.

Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly strongly strongly

It’s always wrong to hurt people, including by what you say. We shouldn’t have to worry about political correctness. If you
Maybe it’s not illegal, but it’s wrong. Even if they deserve it – don’t like a word, that’s your problem. There is no right not to
it won’t make them better, but it will make you worse. be offended.

Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly strongly strongly

You have the freedom to say what you want, but I have Changing something historical because it means something
the freedom to judge you for it. Including saying that I won’t different now is ridiculous. You should respect history, not
buy from you, talk to you or work with you. rewrite it just to be fashionable.

Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly strongly strongly

Freedom of speech has to be complete freedom or it means Words and images can be part of creating an atmosphere of
nothing. It’s easy to defend speech we agree with. We have to feeling unsafe. People have a right not to live in fear.
defend even speech we disagree with, even speech we think
is evil.
Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly
Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree
strongly strongly

Saying you don’t care if you hurt someone or not is stupid.

Some people deserve to be insulted and hurt, but you should Listen to the conversation. The first speaker is trying to
try not to hurt or insult people by accident. persuade the other about one of the statements above.
Which one?
Scan the QR code or go to
Agree Agree No opinion Disagree Disagree www.bridge-online.cz/bridge,
strongly strongly January‑February 2021 issue and play
the track “Differing Viewpoints”.

BONUS QUESTION
One of the speakers in the dialogue uses the idiom “to be
(like) a bull in a china shop”. Do you know what it means?
Do you have a similar idiom in your language?

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  G R E AT
T H E I CA N
AMER NDING
REBRA
ESCAPING HISTORY
The United States’ history is heavy with
racism, beginning with slavery and
massacres of the Native Americans. But
today? Many Americans feel that it is
mainly a thing of the past. To others,
though, racism is a daily experience, and
not just in the behavior of other people.
Patrick Phillips (USA)
Racist symbols are everywhere in the US, from beloved
products to the names of sports teams and even to
the designs of some state flags. Company owners,
customers and fans have long argued that these
symbols are just a harmless part of history and culture.
Right now, things are changing. Americans are thinking
again about what it means to live among the symbols
of a racist past. Many such symbols have already been
changed, and more will be in the future. But some
people still argue that there is nothing wrong and they
will not be bullied into changing. Here are just a few of
the brands that people want changed. Do you agree?
Indians or Native
Americans or…?
Many sports teams across the country are
named after Native Americans, often using
words like Indian or Brave (an English name
given to young Native American warriors). Some
of these teams are under pressure to change their
names, while others have already done so.
The Cleveland Indians, a baseball team, announced
in December that they were changing their name. Following meetings
with Native Americans, team officials had already made some changes,
such as removing a caricature of an Indian from their logo. The decision
to change the name was more complicated. One thing is that not even
Native Americans agree on what is offensive. About 50% say they think of
themselves as Indians, 35% prefer Native American, and the other 15% don’t
care what you call them.
Another baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, have decided not to change
their name. Team management says the name honors Native Americans
and is not offensive at all.
Some argue that names like Indians and Braves are always racist.
The teams historically had nothing to do with Native Americans, and these
names just use a stereotype of their culture as a symbol. Who’s right here?

No More Redskins
In some cases, the question is
much simpler – as in the case of
the Washington Redskins. For many
decades, the football team insisted
that they would never, ever change
their name, even though redskin is
a racial insult and always has been.
The team’s refusal to change didn’t
really shock anyone because they
were known as the most racist team
in the National Football League.
Black players were allowed to play
in the NFL in 1946, but the Redskins
were an all-white team until 1962.
Things change. In the summer
of 2020, the Washington Redskins
announced they would finally
Is That a Slave on Your Box?
Some of America’s oldest and most
loved brands have people of color
on their logos. Aunt Jemima maple
syrup has a smiling black woman on
the packaging, while Uncle Ben’s rice
has a kindly‑looking black man. Both
brands have announced that this
will change.
What’s the problem? The people
drawn as Aunt Jemima and Uncle
Ben were former slaves, and this
angers* some people. But it
was a long time ago and former
slaves had many jobs at the time.
The bigger problem is the names.
In the old South, older black men
and women weren’t called Mr and
Mrs, as these terms of respect
were reserved for white people.
Instead, they were called Aunt
or Uncle, making these innocent
terms a racist insult. So Uncle
Ben’s will now just be Ben’s. Aunt
Jemima’s will also have a new
name, to be announced soon.
But what about Frank
L. White? He was a black chef
from Chicago who has been
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drop their racist name. The start
of the season was too close for
a proper rebranding*, so they
said that for the 2020 NFL season
the team would be known simply
as the Washington Football Team.
The team also removed references
to Native Americans from their
uniforms and logo.
The team was supposed to get
the exciting new name next year,
but fans have fallen in love with
the temporary name and the team is
thinking about keeping it. Washington
Football Team may be a strange
name, but it’s a name the people of
Washington can finally be proud of.
on every box of Cream of Wheat
oatmeal* since 1925. Nowadays many
people think Cream of Wheat should
change the image. But why? It’s
a picture of a smiling chef and there
is nothing clearly offensive about it.
Would it be OK if a white man were
there? Sure. So does that mean it’s
not appropriate because the chef is
black? But wouldn’t that be racist?
It’s sometimes complicated.
Didn’t the North
Win the War?
The American Civil War ended in 1865.
The pro‑slavery Confederates lost, the Unionists
won, slavery was ended and the United States
became what it is today. And yet, all across
the Southern United States there are statues and
memorials honoring Confederate soldiers and
leaders. Even the United States Army has forts*
named after Confederate generals.
Imagine being a black person living in Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi or
North Carolina. What’s so bad? The flags of each of
these seven states were based on Confederate flags.
That means that as a black person, you constantly
live under the symbols of a country that wanted you
to be a slave. It is not hard to see why this would
be unpleasant, yet so far only one of these states –
Mississippi – has taken the Confederate symbols off
its flag. The other states have refused to change.
The use of explicit* Confederate symbols is quite
obviously problematic. Other controversies are less
clear, like the use of the word Dixie. This is an old
nickname for the South. It’s in famous songs, it’s
on many products and is even used as a first name.
But now it’s not cool to have Dixie in your name.
The country music group The Dixie Chicks have
changed their name to The Chicks, and the Dixie
Brewing Company, the pride of New Orleans, will be
known as the Faubourg Brewing Company. Is this
the right decision, or a step too far?
GLOSSARY*
rebranding [ˌriːˈbrændɪŋ] – changing a brand’s look, logo, image, etc.
to anger [ˈæŋɡə(r)] – to make angry
oatmeal [ˈəʊtmiːl] – breakfast porridge
fort [fɔːt] – a military building
explicit [ɪkˈsplɪsɪt] – clear
BRE X AME
behaviour (BrE) x behavior (AmE)
to honour (BrE) x to honor (AmE)
American football (BrE) x football (AmE)
colour (BrE) x color (AmE)