Rebranding Riverside Secondary School

The Greater Essex County District School Board is committed to dismantling all forms of systemic racism and oppression to create safe, caring and inclusive learning and working environments for all students and staff.

To this end, we are ethically and legally compelled to immediately and completely remove the team name, Rebels, from Riverside Secondary School and to discontinue the use of the mascot "Captain Rebel".

The Rebel name and related imagery are associated with white supremacy, anti-Black racism, hate and harm. Recently, two other Ontario schools have been rebranded, removing Rebel spirit names and accompanying iconography. There have also been numerous, similar actions taken in U.S. communities, some in southern states.

We are grateful to the members of the Riverside Secondary School community who, in the past year, have voiced their concerns about this crucial human rights issue. School administration and board staff will work, in cooperation with the school community, to develop a thoughtful process to select a new and equitable school spirit name and brand for Riverside Secondary School.

The GECDSB acknowledges and sincerely apologizes for the harms caused by the adoption and retention of the Rebel name and related representations. 

More detailed information is found in this Backgrounder.