The Boy Scouts of America announced on Tuesday that it will be changing its name for the first time in the organization’s 114-year history in an effort to be more welcoming and “inclusive.” The group, which opened its ranks to female scouts in 2017, will now be known by the gender-neutral name “Scouting America”—a title the no-longer-just-Boy Scouts hope will encourage young Scouts to “be who they are.”
In a statement announcing the name change, the Boy Scouts emphasized that the new branding will reflect “the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting.”
“This announcement also comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs,” the press release continued. “Scouting America currently serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.”
The Boy Scouts of America today announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America, reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. Learn more:https://t.co/EiE1iasb2x pic.twitter.com/D11RkvCr45
— Boy Scouts – BSA (@boyscouts) May 7, 2024
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This new chapter for the BSA follows more than a decade of drastic changes in the organization’s inclusion policies, beginning in 2013 with a decision to allow gay youth to join Boy Scout troupes. An end to the blanket ban on gay scout leaders followed in 2015. In 2017, it was announced that girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts beginning the following year and then incorporated into the flagship Boy Scout program in 2019.
At the same time, the BSA was bogged down with hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits from former troupe members, eventually forcing the group to file for bankruptcy in 2020. BSA was able to emerge from Chapter 11 last year with a plan to pay $2.4 billion to 82,000 individual plaintiffs. Last fall, retired businessman and former Eagle Scout Roger A. Krone took over as BSA president and CEO with the goal of reversing declining membership and restoring the Scouts’ good name.
“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be prepared for life,” Krone said in a video statement. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”
The Boy Scouts will not officially adopt “Scouting America” as a new name until February 8, 2025, when the organization will commemorate its 115th anniversary. However, individual groups are likely to begin rebranding immediately in the intervening time.
“It sends this really strong message to everyone in America that they can come to this program, they can bring their authentic self, they can be who they are and they will be welcomed here,” Krone said.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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