New push for 'The Masters' golf tournament in August to change its 'racist' name

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We’ve Lived with 'The Masters' Name Long Enough

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If you haven’t noticed, this country is changing by the day.

The racist names and symbols are going by the wayside quicker than you can keep up.

Statues of Confederate officers and slave owners have been toppled, not just here, but all over the world. No one’s horrible legacy is safe during the current movement against police brutality and systemic racists after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop in Minneapolis.

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Even Uncle Ben’s, Mrs. Butterworth’s, and Aunt Jemima are all out of work. Their racist/stereotypical images won’t grace the packaging of some of our long-standing food products soon.

But let’s not stop there.

There’s a bigger one in the room that needs to be addressed, changed and removed.

The name “The Masters” must go.

The heralded golf tournament, one of the four majors, needs to go back to its original name — the Augusta National Invitational. It became the Masters in 1939.

Tiger Woods, other big-time golfers and corporate sponsorships should demand it. In the current climate, with all the sweeping changes, it’s only right and just. Best of all, in this case, it’s a simple and smooth fix.

The Masters never felt good or even sounded good when you said it.

And before we hear from the choir about tradition and history, save it.

When that history and tradition is rooted in slavery, it shouldn’t be preserved and honored.

Augusta National was built on grounds that were once a slave plantation and was the property of a slave owner. And according to a 2019 New Yorker piece about the course, it’s believed that enslaved Blacks were housed on the property.

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