Suzan Shown Harjo is a 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. Suzan and 6 co-plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in 1992 against Pro Football, Inc. as an important step to cancel 6 trademark registrations the Washington football team used to profit from the use of their racist name and logo.
I had the honor of speaking remotely with Suzan, and her son Duke Harjo, about the Washington organization’s decision to change their name and logo. We talked about the details of the 1992 case, what it was like for Duke growing up in DC hearing the R-word everyday, and Suzan’s thoughts on receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom award from President Obama. Suzan also discusses working closely with late Representative and Civil Rights hero John Lewis.
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Photo by IndigenousAction.org