The adoption of a new mascot for a Portland, Oregon, high school has been delayed because officials believe using a tree could be connected to the history of lynching in the United States. Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School, which was recently renamed from Woodrow Wilson High School, is also in the process of changing its mascot to an Evergreen from a Trojan. “Evergreens are characterized by the life-giving force of their foliage, the strength of their massive trunk, and the depth of their roots—in an individual tree and as a forest of trees,” Ellen Whatmore, a teacher and mascot committee member at the school, read from a resolution during a March 30 meeting. “They provide shelter and sustenance. They have histories that preclude us and will continue in perpetuity after we are no more. This symbolic choice is grounded in the spirit of Portland, and is representative of Ida B. …