Just the heads up this episode is gonna have some language in it that people might find offensive.

This is Code Switch.

I'm Gene Demby.

And I'm Shireen Marisol Maraji.

Gene, have you ever heard this song?

No, it's like, it's like diva of something, ladies.

It sounds like it, but it's not.

It's from this Portland Oregon-based rock band.

They're probably better known for the Supreme Court case about their band name than their actual music.

They're called The Slans.

Well, this is Lance.

They've been in the news a lot lately.

That is true.

Here's The Slans Frontman and Beast is Simon Tam talking about how he came up with the name.

I started asking some friends about, you know, I would say things like, what's a common stereotype?

What do you think all Asians have in common?

And, you know, the first response I got was like, oh, slanted eyes.

Simon thought naming his all Asian American band, The Slans could one be a way to reclaim a racial slur.

Number two, I said, oh, we could talk about our slant life as people of color.

But as it turns out, there was another band called The Slans.

So, Simon wanted a trademark registration, but his application was denied because the trademark office, the patent and trademark office in Washington said that the name was a slur.

And that's when his legal battles began and those battles took him all the way to the Supreme Court.

...