A proposed state bill could make Freeburg High School change its controversial mascot, the “Midgets,” a term many people with dwarfism consider a slur.
State Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, filed a bill on Friday that would ban public schools from using derogatory names for people with disabilities as mascots.
The Prohibition of Discriminatory Disability Mascots Act was written by West’s staff and a group of activists from across the country who have been asking Freeburg High School District 77 officials to consider changing their mascot since October. If signed into law, it would give Freeburg High School until 2028 to phase out old logos, uniforms and other materials.
District 77 Superintendent Sarah Gass could not immediately be reached for comment about the bill.
The activist group, Mascots Matter, has also lodged complaints with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and other oversight agencies accusing Freeburg High School of violating federal anti-discrimination law. Group members say the mascot creates a hostile environment for people with disabilities.
Rachel Wherley, one of the leaders of the group, said people regularly use the term to mock her because she has achondroplasia dwarfism.
“This is an issue for our disability community that we take very seriously,” Wherley said in an interview.
She and other Mascots Matter leaders Shelby Holloway and Erin Elswood reached out to West’s office in January because of his previous efforts to pass legislation banning school mascots depicting Native American people, including derogatory terms like “Redskins.”
“From my background, the N-word is something I don’t look upon favorably. … I need to empathize with communities that have similar words,” said West, who is Black.
Wherley described West’s willingness to draft similar mascot legislation for people with disabilities as validating. But so far, none of West’s efforts around school mascots have been adopted.
West noted that negotiations on his mascots legislation paused when people from Native American tribes asked him to instead focus on a bill requiring Native American history to be taught in schools, which was signed into law in 2023.
Wherley said Mascots Matter members plan to travel to Illinois to help West push for the Prohibition of Discriminatory Disability Mascots Act’s passage. They want to voice their support for the bill when it comes to committees for discussion.
Freeburg High School has resisted calls to change its mascot in the past. The Little People of America organization told the school board 10 years ago that it found “Midgets” to be derogatory, objectifying and dehumanizing.
At the time, hundreds of supporters of the mascot from the community attended a school board meeting wearing shirts and holding signs urging “save the Midget.”
Mascots Matter is also advocating for four other Midwestern high schools to change their mascots from the “Midgets.”
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Lexi Cortes is a reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
