Last year, the NCAA dictated that colleges whose nicknames and/or mascots deemed to be offensive to Native Americans will not be allowed to host any NCAA postseason game in any sports. In response, many colleges have decided to change their school nicknames. But that has brought up the fear that alumni will refuse to donate to the school in an angry backlash. The Chicago Sun-Times notes that this fear may be exaggerated:

When Knox College in western Illinois got rid of its nickname 13 years ago, the school heard from plenty of angry alumni vowing never to donate to the school again. But in the years since, the school said, donations have increased steadily, and even some of the angriest alumni have come back to strongly support the school. . . .

While it is unknown whether alumni will close their wallets if [the University of Illinois] drops Chief Illiniwek as its symbol, the experience at Knox is similar to what other area schools have seen after changing nicknames or mascots. In general, school officials and fund-raising experts said, while there might be a short-term dip, initial anger subsides. Over the long haul, in most cases, alumni reflect upon their overall experience at the school as a motivation to continue to give money.

If I recall, the same fears existed when the first Civil Rights victories were achieved back in the 1950s and 1960s -- that if all-White schools were desegregated that White parents would keep their children home permanently, or that citizens would rebel against government authority if they were forced to integrate. As history shows, there were a few examples of that kind of backlash but for the most part, people eventually accepted that this was the reality of the day, not to mention that it was the right thing to do.

As the article mentions, we can say the same thing in regard to reactions to schools “being forced” to change their racially/culturally insensitive and perhaps even racist nicknames by the NCAA. Alumni might grumble at the beginning, but eventually accept it as reality and see the larger context of the issue.

The moral to this story is, change can be hard, but yes, tolerance and respect for racial justice can be legislated -- even imposed -- on society without disastrous consequences.