Coming Soon... Rebel Spirit

Over the past year, Akilah Hughes (Crooked Media’s “What a Day”) has been on a journey back to her hometown of Florence, Kentucky to convince her high school that now is the time to change their mascot from a Confederate General into something everyone in the South loves: a Biscuit. Throughout the process she has had conversations with local advocates and allies who are supportive of making a change. She has also interviewed tons of incredible people like journalist Jemele Hill, NFL player Calais Campbell, and even Brian Allen, the creator of the Philadelphia Flyer's beloved mascot Gritty, plus many more. And now, Akilah is thrilled to share her journey when Rebel Spirit premieres Sept. 3rd, in just one week!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bo any Ceo you and why Boom County biscuits sum
right off?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Right? All right?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Can you tell I'm passionate about biscuits? Hello, I'm Akila Hughes,
And for roughly the past year, I've been on a
journey back to my hometown in Kentucky where I want
to change my high school's racist mascot, the Rebels, into
something that is more inclusive and arguably loved by everyone
in the South. The biscuits. Okay, so Boo, or what

(00:34):
do you put on the side of the football home?
Is it like just a static biscuit or is it
like a biscuit around a bowl of sausage gravy?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
I don't know, not really feeling biscuits.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Not feeling biscuits, fair biscuits.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Okay, I can't wait to see that.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
I mean, it's cute, right, all right, Well, maybe it
won't be the biscuits, but really, my only goal in
this journey is to help my high school in Brison
new mascot any mascot that students can be proud of
for decades to come. I spent the last year making
trips back to Kentucky to speak with local advocates.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Just remember what we.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Did a year ago, build a coalition of allies.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Oh, I will hope to change your rebels if you
would like that.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
I would love that and dive deep into the history
of racism in my hometown.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
And I really believe that that people need education. And
they keep saying they have, you know, diversity officers everywhere
and things like this, But this takes a real education
and some willingness to open up to yourself and learn
yourself and who you really are.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Along the way, I've also had tons of conversations with
impressive people like sports journalists Jamel Hill, who knows exactly
what racism and sports looks like. When you think about
how the NFL has to wear that stain of what
they did to him, because I don't think it'll ever
be forgotten. NFL defensive tackle kalei Is Campbell, who stepped
in to help his own high school change from the

(02:00):
to the Ravens.

Speaker 4 (02:01):
No matter where you come from, there's such an attachment,
there's such a pride. But for a moment there it
was like pribe but has like a little bit of
a life right.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Like an asterisk.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
That's how I feel. That's exactly how I feel. And
even mascot designers like Brian Allen, the creator of Gritty,
the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers, who is now beloved.
But it wasn't always that way.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Some people thought you looked like a demon, so there
was a little bit of that, and eventually people kind
of forgot that they hated him, and because a lot
of times I'll tell people that nobody liked him at first,
and they don't even remember that part, which is fantastic.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
All of these entertaining and educational conversations happened in an
effort to learn as much as I can and convince
my high school that it's finally time for a change.
It hasn't been easy and the work isn't over, but
I'm so excited to share the show with y'all. And
who knows, maybe this is exactly the push all those
other rebel schools across the country need to move away
from racist, dated and embarrassing icons. Be sure to subscribe

(03:07):
to Rebel Spirits so you can get our first episode
as soon as it drops next week. Listen to Rebel
Spirits starting on September three on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts,