KALAMAZOO, Mich.- A new billboard in Kalamazoo County is bringing attention to a school mascot.
Native Americans in West Michigan are saying Paw Paw High School's "redskins" mascot needs to go.
Benjamin Williams is a Native American and a member of the Michigan Coalition Against Racism and Sports in Media who posted the billboard on I-94 Wednesday morning.
"This billboard is to have a public presence in Paw Paw," says Williams.
Paw Paw is one of five Michigan schools that still uses Redskins as a mascot. The billboard states that the word Redskins is disparaging, very offensive and should be avoided.
"It represents how they refer to our skins when we were turned in for bounties," says Williams.
This is not the first time Paw Paw has dealt with the Redskins controversy. Last year the school board voted four to three and kept the name despite criticism from local Native American tribes. Williams remains hopeful because of schools like Belding which have changed their mascot name.
"The cost of changing the brand for a lot of these schools was an issue, so many of the tribes have come together and said we will pay," says Williams.
And Williams takes exception to those who say they are being too sensitive or too politically correct.
"Since when did having common courtesy or common decency toward others become a PC thing? This isn't a snowflake issue, this is a respect thing, toward someone that is different than you," says Williams.
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