Should it stay or should it go?

Demonstration held to defend the ‘Red Rider’

WEIRTON -- When news broke last week that Weir High School would be phasing out the Red Rider= logo, it certainly caused a stir in the community.

Monday, just four days after word of the change started getting around, a group gathered outside the Weirton Millsop Community Center to voice displeasure with the decision and show support for the logo, a cartoon character depicting a Native American critics say is racist and insensitive.

The event, organized by Mike Keffer, also known as "DJ Mike" of DJ Mike Music Express Entertainment, drew a crowd of between 75 and 85 people at its peak at around 5 p.m, many of whom were wearing apparel with the logo in debate. The size of the crowd fluctuated throughout the event.

Keffer, a Weirton resident and 1997 graduate of the school, addressed the crowd, warning if they give in on the logo, it will only be the beginning.

"What scares me, ladies and gentlemen, is today, it's (the logo) ... in the coming times, they're coming for your name next," he said. "Trust me, it will not stop right here. If we let it go, it's gonna roll like wild fire."

"Our steel mill that used to represent Weirton, W.Va., is gone. And, that's what I'm worried could happen from a bad decision if we just stand back and stand by and let the powers that be tell us what's right and what's wrong," he said.

"To those are offended ... I say get over it," he later added. "It's a … cartoon character. If you find racism in this, maybe you're the problem."

His tone on the logo, however, did change by the end of the event, with counterarguments made by a group that arrived about an hour into the demonstration.

Keffer insisted during his remarks that the logo was created and chosen out of respect for Native American culture, not to be racist. He was critical of Weir High School Principal Kristin Bissett and spoke against cancel culture.

He urged those gathered to call not only Bissett, but members of the Hancock County Board of Education to voice their displeasure with the decision.

"I never would have thought the cancel culture would have made it to Weirton," he said, citing national stories, like Washington's NFL team changing its name.

As the demonstration was seeming to wind down, things took a turn when a group in support of the logo being removed arrived, sparking a broader conversation and tense exchanges with members of the crowd.

Among those arriving to voice their opposition to the use of the logo were Jim and Jennifer Luevano and their daughter, Kiana, a student at the school.

Jim Luevano, a teacher in the district and former high school boys soccer coach at Weir High, had a brief back-and-forth with Keffer, much of which was inaudible due to the crowd noise and passing cars, though Jennifer spoke on the microphone twice, going back-and-forth with Keffer and members of the crowd.

She remarked that "there should not even be a question that this image is 100 percent racist imagery" and said removing it has nothing to do with removing the school's history.

She said the red stereotype comes from bounties the government paid for the skin of natives in the 1800s, calling it "governmental genocide."

"That's why native people take such a huge insult from something like this," she said. "This shouldn't even be questionable."

"Maybe we all need to take a little history class, to be quite honest with you," Keffer said after her remarks.

In response to Keffer saying eliminating the logo is not fair to those who support it, Jennifer Luevano said, "Those 2,000-some people that say it's unfair, go back over the last 200 years and deal with what my kids' families have dealt with. There is no comparison.

"The only thing going away is the racist connotation. Your football teams still won state. Your history goes with the school."

Kiana Luevano engaged in conversations with Keffer and several members of the crowd. Despite the tones of some the audience members toward her, at times, getting tense, she appeared to remain smiling and composed throughout the conversations.

One exchange in particular stood out as she engaged in a conversation with another school-age girl who was dressed in a mascot costume portraying a Native American.

Following the exchanges with the Luevanos, Keffer's tone on the logo seemed to shift a bit, as he voiced openness to altering the logo and having "negotiations" with the school, though a theme throughout the entire event was that the real concern is a potential name change coming next.

"We're not opposed to any kind of change," Keffer said addressing Jim Luevano. "If this is improper, we need to make it proper."

Keffer, multiple times, offered apologies to the Luevanos.

"I'm willing to work with you guys," he said to Jim Luevano. "I'm willing to work with the school."

"We can scrap this, if we have to," he later added holding a picture of the logo. "What I'm worried about is the name. I hope you guy see I'm being fair."

He insisted to the crowd the change in tone was not him "spinning" and stated he has been willing to have discussions from the beginning.

He did note in his opening remarks he "respected" the "other side" but the tone on the logo early in the event was much more defensive than at the end.

He said that he considers himself to be interested in history and thinks the Native American people have "always been robbed."

Though there have not been any public comments from the school indicating a name change is being discussed, Jennifer Luevano, while explaining her family's position, did indicate the "Red" portion of the name "Red Riders" is a problem, calling it "another story down the road" in her second set of remarks.

"If it was just a Weir High Rider without the red connotation with a proud Indian riding a horse, we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

At one point Jim Luevano told Keffer that the attention to the name from his side might actually lead to a name change. Jennifer Luvenao also added that the logo was never approved by the board.

Jim Luevano told Keffer he finds the "Red" portion of the name to be offensive.

Local radio talk show host Dimitri Vassilaros also addressed the crowd early in the event, but had departed for a prior commitment by the time the Luevanos arrived.

Vassilaros told the crowd the logo being removed was another example of cancel culture.

"This woke culture, this cancel culture, has to be stopped and it can be stopped right here in Weirton by all of you," he said.

"It seems the principal, Mrs. Bissett, has gone rogue to show how woke she is," he added. "It's up to you to hold the school board accountable because they represent you."

Like Keffer, he urged those upset at the logo being phased out to contact the board of education members.

One attendee, who did not give his name, told the crowd he had an online exchange with "a former board of education member" who said the name is what ultimately has to go.

"It's my opinion they're going to go after the Indian character, they're going to see how easy it is to get rid of it, and once they accomplish that ... they're going to go after the name," the man said.

One thing Keffer, Vassilaros and members of the crowd keyed in on was a statement from Bissett late last week that said the school has been removing the logo "over the course of the year" and that the character is "not an official school mascot."

"How many of you knew that?" Vassilaros asked the crowd.

One elderly lady went to the front of the crowd to hold up her yearbook from the 1960s which contained the logo. Another showed off a class ring from 1969 that has the logo on it.

"This could be all canceled in the stroke of a pen," Keffer said.

Another woman, who said her son is on the bowling team, told the crowd the school's bowling team recently purchased jerseys with the logo on them for an upcoming national competition.

"Is there one soul here who doesn't think the Red Rider is the official mascot?" Vassilaros asked. "Of course it's the mascot."

A group of school-age children held up signs near Main Street with writing in support of the logo, though they told Keffer they were from Brooke County Schools, not Weir, and cars passing the event throughout its entirety honked and waved as they passed.

Those who gathered were welcomed to the Irish Pub on Main Street following the event for a free meal, which was announced over the speakers to be an invitation from Carol Hrabovsky, owner and a Weir High graduate.

State Delegate Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock County, also briefly addressed the crowd about the need for a conversation to take place. He also spoke privately with the Luevanos.

Keffer thanked the city for quickly approving the permit to hold the event.