March 25, 2014

Washington Football Team Starts Charity, Is Absolved of Racism

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Good news out of Washington: Local NFL team owner Dan Snyder reflected on the challenges facing Native Americans, and, in a letter released Monday, promises to change the team’s n—

Wait, sorry. Snyder actually defends the team’s name as “rooted in pride.” After traveling the country and hearing from tribal leaders, though, Snyder says the real problem is that keeping the team’s racial slur name is just too small an honor. “It’s not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans,” he writes. “We must do more.” Enter the Original Americans Foundation.

The foundation is meant to “provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities.” Its work has already started: Snyder writes that the charity purchased a backhoe for the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska and donated coats and shoes to several other tribes. “Because I’m so serious about the importance of this cause, I began our efforts quietly and respectfully, away from the spotlight,” Snyder notes in the four-page letter, which was quietly and respectfully posted on the front page of the team’s website, away from the spotlight.

See the whole letter, which Indian Country Today called “rife with self-satisfaction and misdirection,” below:

 

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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