Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Alexii Sigona about the United States' history with colonialism.

The Washington NFL team after decades of being pressured into changing its racist name this week announced it would be dropping it.

The team’s spokespeople in a statement said they would be retiring the name and working on a new one.

The announcement came after the shipping company FedEx, which is a major sponsor of the team warned that it would, “terminate its business and public relationships” unless the name was dropped.

Meanwhile, as statues of confederate leaders around the nation are being toppled and defaced in a new era of racial reckoning, historic figures linked to colonialism and the oppression of indigenous people are also being marked for destruction.

In California, Mission-era monuments including churches and statues of Father Junipero Serra are being targeted.

Rising Up with Sonali is a radio and television show that brings progressive news coverage rooted in gender and racial justice to a wide audience. 

Rising Up With Sonali was built on the foundation of Sonali Kolhatkar's earlier show, Uprising, which became the longest-running drive-time radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles hosted by a woman. 

RUS airs on Free Speech TV every weekday.

Missed an episode?  Check out Rising Up on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

Alexii Sigona Colonialism Confederacy Free Speech TV NFL Rising Up with Sonali Sonali Kolhatkar Washington D.C. Washington Redskins