GARLAND, Texas — On Tuesday night, a committee of South Garland High School students, alumni, staff, parents and community members will present a new mascot to the school board.
Since 1968, the school's mascot has been the colonel.
According to the district, symbols of the Confederacy were chosen by students who attended the new campus in the 60's. It included a rebel flag, "Dixie" as the fight song, and a Civil War colonel as the mascot.
The flag was changed in 1991. The fight song was later changed. A plantation mural in the cafeteria was also repainted. However, the mascot remained.
Brenda Hefner Monk was part of South Garland's class of 1968. She remembers, "We got to vote on the mascot, and then it became the colonel."
As Hefner Monk flipped through the pages of her black and white yearbook, she said, "I think history teaches us many lessons. And as students then, we were teenagers. And as we have grown through the years and progressed, it is time for change."
In July 2020, the NAACP requested Garland Independent School District rebrand the school, including the mascot. The request included changes be completed by August 2021.
In January 2021, the committee to change the mascot formed. Hefner Monk joined, and is excited for a new symbol.
Jorge Ramirez, a junior at South Garland High School, is also part of the committee. "It ultimately came down to the titans."
He hopes the school board will approve the titan as the new mascot. Ramirez said, "A titan represents strength, overachievement and overall durability."
While Ramirez and Hefner Monk are from different generations of South Garland High School, they agree it's important to learn from the past and build and inclusive future.