Denver South changes mascot from Rebels to Ravens
The sports teams at Denver South will have a new mascot, principal Bobby Thomas announced in a letter to parents on Friday afternoon.
The school’s athletic department will now be known as the Ravens, changing from Rebels.
The South High School mascot has been the Rebels since the school’s founding in 1926. The Rebels is a reference to the southern Confederacy in the Civil War. Nearly 100 years after the school’s founding, the Rebels no longer seems appropriate, acceptable, or an accurate representation of what South stands for or should reflect in its mascot. For this reason, the leadership at South determined that the mascot should be updated to better represent the school’s values.
Following “robust community feedback,” as well as process involving surveys, focus groups and a mascot selection committee that took six months, the school selected the Ravens as the new mascot.
“We believe that the Ravens represent the South community in a number of ways,” Thomas wrote. “Ravens are smart, clever birds that are known to be strategic problem solvers. They are empathetic, loyal creatures that form lifelong bonds. And importantly, the raven is an inclusive animal — it has a long history of being held in high regard both in Native American culture and others throughout the world, and ravens are not associated with any particular gender or race.”
The school’s new logo will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
