From NPR:
The Lanham Act became law in 1946, a time when it "was inconceivable that racial, ethnic and other minority groups would be in positions of power to want to reclaim a term like The Slants," says Jennifer Lee, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine… "Almost 70 years later, an Asian-American band wants to reclaim the name, divorce The Slants of the slur and empower themselves and Asian-Americans in the process."

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http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/05/08/404748835/whats-in-a-name-band-founder-fights-government-to-retain-the-slants