Change is inevitable, but for Westbury High School—established in 1961 as a suburban-style school on the outskirts of Houston—change is constant. As Houston’s population changed, those changes made their way into the suburban campus.
And today, in the face of controversies, Westbury High School is in the process of deciding what to do with its most visible figure—the Rebel that adorns its walls.
The school still calls itself the Westbury Rebels, but mascot Johnny Reb and his Confederate flag have long been missing. The new mascot does not carry a flag.
Though some argue the mascot is a symbol of a time when the school was segregated, Rita Woodward, a member of the Friends of Westbury High School Foundation, said otherwise. She said the mascot defined the students who went there, not a belief abolished many years ago.
“They were named the Rebels because they were a bunch of rowdy kids,” Woodward said. “They were not named for racial purposes.”
The school’s colors are blue and gray, but an administrator had the walls repainted green when the school was recently renovated.
Today the controversy is over more than just the racial connotations. At a school beset by violence since last school year, many parents have voiced concern about the mascot and how it is being interpreted.
The issue was raised at a community meeting in December in the aftermath of the shooting death of a Westbury student near the campus and addressed in a question-and-answer section on the school’s Web site by Principal Eric Coleman. Coleman did not return the Examiner’s calls about the issue.
“What’s the school spirit at Westbury? What’s the mascot?” the question on the Web site asks. “A rebel reflects violence…the community would like something more peaceful.”
Coleman answers: “I’ve spoken with a lot of parents about this issue, and we are continuing to review it. It’s an important question and we need to have more dialogue about it between parents and the school.”
“If an issue such as that is the case, I guess there is nothing can do about it but change it,” Woodward said.
George Lake, a 1971 Westbury graduate, said he does not feel the school’s mascot carries any racial or violent undertone. He said Johnny Reb is a name that went along with living in the south during the Civil War era.
“Johnny Reb just meant you grew up in the south during that time,” Lake said. “The people of the south were proud of the Confederate States of America, and that is what Johnny Reb symbolized.” Lake feels the name has no association with violence and he would not like to see it changed. “I hope the school keeps the name, but if that is what they want to do, then an animal would probably be the safest,” Lake said. “I went to Baylor and a bear for a mascot is pretty nice.”
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