93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Dueling petitions have led to a debate over whether Mexico High School’s band should keep the name Mexico High Dixie Gray Marching Band.
An online petition calls for a name change, saying in part “This name glorifies the traitorous slave-owners of the Confederacy and should be relegated to Missouri’s racist past.”
Mexico native Derek Maxwell started a counter-petition, and had more than twice as many signatures as of July 6. He says the band has actually represented diversity and inclusion for decades.
“The people that love this and it means something to them, they’re not looking at it and thinking what connotations that may or may not be associated with it based on what happened 150 years ago,” Maxwell said on The Mike Ferguson Show. “These people were talking about what it meant to them today.”
The Mexico School District says it is aware of the petitions, but has not announced any action yet. The next board of education meeting is July 21.
