Rebel Spirit

After a shocking new development in her efforts to replace the Jefferson Davis statue in the Kentucky State Capitol, Akilah learns you sometimes have to be careful what you wish for.  Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.  Reporting and writing by me, Akilah Hughes. I’m also the host and Executive Producer.  Produced and writte...

Throughout this season Akilah has spoken with many people - historians, politicians, journalists, artists, designers - and in every conversation one name keeps coming up. The Daughters of the Confederacy. So in today's episode, Akilah is taking a closer look.  Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.  Reporting and writing by Akilah Hughes,...

Historian and retired Brigadier General Ty Seidule speaks with Akilah about his experience as vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission which was tasked with redesignating Department of Defense assets that honor Confederates. And how he continues with his efforts to shout down the Confederacy despite a continuing backslide fueled by the current administration.  Rebel Spirit is a produ...

This week, Akilah takes a close look at Shenandoah County, Virginia, where one of the more public fights over Confederate iconography has been playing out over the past few years. In 2020, two schools in Shenandoah County named after Confederate generals were changed to Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School. However, the racists fought to change the nam...

Akilah welcomes Clint Smith, a writer who extensively covers race in America and has been cataloguing the dismantling of Confederate monuments and memorials since 2017. He and Akilah discuss the work required to help this country become the version of itself that was promised.  Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.  Reporting and writing...

After deciding on a replacement monument she wants to advocate for, Akilah dives deep into what it takes to actually get a new monument in place. Through conversations with monument makers and preservationists, she starts to build her plan.    Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.  Reporting and writing by Akilah Hughes, she is also...

Akilah narrows her aim at an empty corner of the Kentucky State House where a Jefferson Davis monument once stood. She tries to chase down Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear who advocated for the removal of the Jefferson Davis monument and comes up with what might be the perfect option to replace it.  Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.&nbs...

In our Season Two premiere, Akilah catches up on the latest from her hometown of Florence, Kentucky as she begins to explore how the same Confederate legacy she challenged locally is resurging across America. Through conversations with a couple familiar voices from Season One, she lays out how mascots and monuments are directly tied to the present political moment, and why the fight over who gets...

This season, Akilah takes her fight to the Kentucky State House in an attempt to replace a recently removed Confederate statue with a monument everyone can be proud of. Grounded in her own lived experiences, Season Two explores how monuments aren’t just markers of history -- they’re battlegrounds for the values we’re still negotiating today. Tune in when the new season premieres...

It's the last episode of the season, and Akilah is thinking about her home, Florence, Kentucky. Over the course of our reporting, we've been told how much the town and county are changing, how much more diverse they're getting. What does the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and diversity mean for Florence? What does it mean for all of us? One last open record request underscore...

Since our last episode, we've heard rumors coming out of Boone County: there WILL be a new mascot; there definitely will NOT be a new mascot; the new superintendent wants to know what's going on; there are meetings happening. We've tried hard to get anyone at the school district or the high school to talk with us, so we can find out what's real and what isn't, but nobody will. And so this epi...

Akilah sits down with her producers, Dan and Elizabeth, for a check in on where the journey has taken them since airing the initial episodes. Though there hasn't been much movement from Boone County High School, they have heard some updates from local supporters. Additionally, the team shares an overview of what they plan to share in future episodes. If you have a racist mascot at your high school...

As Akilah and the Rebel Spirit team continue to pursue updates from BCHS on the mascot change, we wanted to share one more bonus episode before the end of the year. Within today's episode you get an expanded look at three of the many interviews we conducted when creating Rebel Spirit. We'll be back in the new year with a larger update on our progress in continuing to follow this story. Until then,...

Akilah returns to Florence for one last push toward change as she speaks at the final Boone County High School SBDC meeting of the school year, which just so happens to be on Juneteenth.  If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to ta...

As we finish up our next episode, and given that everyone’s minds are probably occupied with the Election today, the Rebel Spirit team wanted to take a moment to look back on the process of making this podcast over the last year. Akilah sat down with producers Dan Sinker and Elizabeth Baquet for a conversation about everything they experienced while pushing for change. Hope you enjoy it and we wil...

After so much research and work, it is clear that this uphill battle is not coming to a close soon as Akilah finally gets to speak in front of the school. How do you keep fighting for change when endless roadblocks keep getting in the way? How do you stay positive when progress seems to be moving backwards?  If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a r...

The biggest advice Akilah has gotten for changing the Rebels mascot has been to get in touch with NFL MVP running back and Boone County High School alum, Shaun Alexander. Using the unfortunate power of Facebook, Akilah gets pretty darn close to that goal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a set of riveting interviews with a determined high school principal and an NFL star, Calais Campbell, Akilah gets schooled on the successful process that changed the Denver South High School Rebels into the Ravens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By now we’ve learned that changing the Rebels mascot and team name is a difficult process. For guidance and inspiration, Akilah turns to other former Rebels who didn’t take no for an answer and pushed for their schools to make a change.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re going to create a new mascot, you’ve gotta talk to the experts. In this episode, Akilah speaks with the creators of Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls’ mascot, and Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, about how to successfully bring a new mascot to life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taking a step back from Akilah’s campaign, we spend some time with a local minor league baseball franchise, The Florence Y’All’s, and hear all about how they were able to rebrand their team name from something blah to something more inclusive–which led to a positive impact in every area of their business. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a rac...

In speaking to alumni from Boone County High School willing to share their experiences across multiple decades, a clearer image of all the half-measures taken to remove the confederate imagery and racist symbols from the school emerges–even as the name “Rebels” remains.  If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your...

After dubious claims from the school board about the origin of the Rebels team name, Akilah dives deep into the history of the high school, the influence of classic cinema, and the term Rebel historically in the south. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast...

Akilah heads back to her hometown of Florence, KY to attend her former high school’s homecoming celebration and kick off her campaign to get the Boone County Rebels mascot changed. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com . We would love to talk to...

Over the past year, Akilah Hughes (Crooked Media’s “What a Day”) has been on a journey back to her hometown of Florence, Kentucky to convince her high school that now is the time to change their mascot from a Confederate General into something everyone in the South loves: a Biscuit. Throughout the process she has had conversations with local advocates and allies who are supportive of making a chan...