A 1964 graduate of Du Quoin Township High School is calling on the school to retire the caricature of "DQ Joe," saying it is time to move beyond "that kind of casual racism."
In a letter to the editor sent Friday to the Du Quoin Call, Martha Malan writes:
"It is time for Du Quoin High School to retire its racist 'Crazy Indian' mascot.
"The offensive caricature, designed by the venerated Principal R. Paul Hibbs, was a product of its 20th century invention.
"We have moved beyond that kind of casual, perhaps unconscious, racism. It's time to remove the offensive, embarrassing symbol.
"Black Lives Matter. So do the lives of Native Americans.
Martha Malan
DTHS Class of 1964"
Malan is a retired journalist who went to college near Kansas City and then worked for Associated Press in Minneapolis before joining the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
She said she forgot about "DQ Joe" for decades, until she returned to Du Quoin for her 40th reunion.
"I had not looked at the thing for a long time," she said Sunday from her home outside of St. Paul. "I came to the late realization that the caricature is terribly offensive. He's got a maniacal grin, he's carrying a hatchet, he's got a hook nose."
She said there ought to be some consideration to removing it, particularly now, when people across the nation are thinking more deeply about issues of racism.
District 300 Superintendent Matt Hickam said Monday that whether DQ Joe remains or goes, "it will have to be a community-wide decision and not the decision of one person or tiny group of people."
Hickam said he will share Malan's letter with the school board.
"If our board and community want to discuss it, I'll facilitate that," he added.
R. Paul Hibbs (1906-1982) was a teacher, coach and principal at Du Quoin Township High School from 1928 to 1965. Like Malan, most people give him sole credit for DQ Joe, but the initial drawing was actually made in 1951 by Jerry Givens, according to articles written by former Call editor John Croessman.
Givens was an artist and advertising manager for the Du Quoin Packing Company. Hibbs, Givens and school board member Lyle Flavell (the executive of the packing company) created the revered "Crazy Indian" made out of tile in the floor of the original lobby of Anders Gym. In 1951 Hibbs also copyrighted the image for Du Quoin Township High School.
Malan said she didn't get a lot of support for doing away with DQ Joe when she brought it up at the 40th reunion.
"There's a lot of affection for it," she said. "Some people looked at me like they didn't understand, others were really ticked."
Malan said even though she never again lived in Du Quoin after college, her mother was still here and she had reason to come back and visit. She said living in Minnesota, where Native Americans are politically active, may have made her more sensitive to DQ Joe.
She adds she expects to get a lot of negative reaction to bringing it up now, but urges those people to be heard.
"There is another side to this (debate) besides mine," Malan added. "And the people who resisted the idea at my reunion are good people. It's as if there is a blind spot."
Hickam said she's not surprised the issue is coming up, as similar issues are coming up around the country - like the debate over the Washington Redskins' name and the Cleveland Indians' decision to retire Chief Wahoo.
He pointed out Du Quoin has a direct connection to Native American culture in its very name, as the town is named for Kaskaskia Indian Chief Jean Baptiste Ducoigne, born in 1750 to a French father and a Tamaroa Indian mother.
Fred Huff, at 91 one of the oldest living Du Quoin alumni, said he doesn't think DQ Joe is hurting anybody. He graduated in 1946, before the "crazy Indian" came on the scene.
"But I do understand what she's wanting to change," he added.
Huff also pointed out that Native Americans are part of Du Quoin's history. He thinks the name "Du Quoin Indians" is a tribute to Native Americans and that the school has always treated the name with respect.
