KIRKLAND, Wash. — Though Juanita High School in Kirkland will have a new look after renovation, the debate over its past association with the Confederate battle flag is not new.
“The black community at our high school was was not heard,” said Jadyn Muralt, a recent graduate of the school.
Muralt, other alumni and current students started a new petition asking the school to change its "Rebel" mascot and denounce past use of Confederate imagery.
“Right now, we have about 8,500 signatures,” she said.
Juanita High School's current logo does not currently use Confederate imagery, but they are still called the "Rebels." Students in the past have used the Confederate flag at games.
They also have not publicly denounced the Confederate flag, something Muralt wants them to do.
“I think that with the physical change of the school, they should also just might as well go with a fresh new start and have a new mascot to represent the school in the way that they do want to be represented,” she said.
In 2018 after a series of petitions both for and against the change, the school had the students vote. But ultimately students voted to keep the mascot and logo.
With the renewed conversations about Black Lives Matter across the country, a new petition is asking to school to again remove its association with the confederate flag and "Rebel" mascot.
“I have friends who voted against changing the Rebel mascot who are now like, 'I had no idea how horrible this was,'” Muralt said.
The term "rebel" is closely associated with Confederate soldiers who fought to maintain slavery in the Civil War.
Confederate imagery has come under scrutiny throughout the United States, as mass protests for racial justice emerged after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police was caught on camera. In the past week, NASCAR and the US military announced bans of the Confederate flag.
Muralt, who was a student during the 2018 vote, says she's hopeful this time people will listen.
“I felt like the black voices who had put this out and put so much work into it, for it to happen or not heard. But I feel like now with this Black Lives Matter movement really thriving. This is the best time to bring this back into awareness because people's lives, people's mindsets have changed on Black Lives Matter."
In a statement, Shannon Parthemer, the communications director for the Lake Washington School District said the school and district have received “several” emails and messages about “the mascot, the past process that resulted in a continuation of the Rebel mascot, and the need to reconsider that decision.”
Parthemer said the district will address the topic at their next board meeting on June 22, but says a decision will be made no later the end of July.