Earlier this month the PW Perspective echoed the calls for the Washington NFL Franchise to finally change their moniker. Today, the organization heeded those calls and announced that they will no longer use their former name but will retire the logo as well. This comes on the heels of many other racist symbols have been taken down and high school names changed to honor civil rights leaders as opposed to those who upheld slavery. According to the press release sent out earlier this morning, owner Dan Snyder along with new head coach Ron Rivera “are working closely to develop a new name and design.”

This ends a saga which began since the late George Preston Marshall founded the organization in 1932. Marshall’s history was rooted in racism, refusing to have black players on the franchise. Bobby Mitchell became the first black player to play there in 1962, but it took the Interior Secretary Stewart Udall to threaten revocation of the 30-year lease agreement to D.C. Stadium because it was located on federal land. All likenesses of Marshall have been removed, from his statue at their former home of RFK Stadium in DC, to his name taken off the Ring of Fame at FedEx Field in Lanham, MD. This past Saturday the organization retired Mitchell’s no. 49 and replaced Marshall’s name at the lower bowl of FedEx Field with Mitchell’s.

The team was originally named the Braves due to their sharing of the same stadium with the Boston Braves until Marshall took over the franchise and then changed the name. The franchise moved to DC in 1937, where Marshall owned the team until his death in 1969. During his reign, the organization participated in several racist acts, including having the marching band play “Dixie” for more than 23 years. Despite pressure from the NAACP and then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, Marshall was adamant about keeping the name, citing its tradition of honoring the Blackfoot tribe. In addition, Marshall said that he would bring on a black player when “the Harlem Globetrotters signed a white player.”

Several years ago, Snyder stated that he would not change the name, stating that 9 out of 10 Native Americans were not offended by the moniker in a 2016 poll. Nike and other retailers began removing the merchandise from its website and stores over the past few weeks, and FedEx themselves recommended a changing of the name. Finally, Snyder relented and has formed a committee to create a new moniker that would be appeasing to everyone.

Whatever they are called going forward, this is another step in the acknowledgement and removal of racist symbolism.