Fate of “Plantations” on state’s official name now in the hands of voters
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE)– The Rhode Island General Assembly approved legislation Thursday night that will allow voters to determine the future of the state’s name.
With the bill approved in both chambers of the General Assembly, the inclusion of “and Providence Plantations” that formally completes the State of Rhode Island’s official name will be decided on November’s ballot.
“The images that come to mind when I hear the word ‘plantations’ are the inhuman and degrading treatment of the African-Americans who came before me, families ripped apart by slave sales, rapes, castrations and lynchings,” said state Sen. Harold Metts, one of the sponsors of the bill, in a statement. “It is a hurtful term to so many of us. Not unlike the debate over the Confederate flag, retaining the term does nothing to memorialize history but conjures an unnecessary and painful reminder of our racist past, and the injustice and racism that persists to this day.”
Metts, who has traced his lineage to the Speck Plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia, said that the name change is appropriate given Rhode Island’s historical connection to the slave trade.
“This old, festering wound still needs healing,” Metts said. “We aren’t proud of that history, and we must stop glorifying a word that is inescapably associated with that terrible past.”
Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, another sponsor of the bill, said the push for the name change is echoed in the current calls for racial justice.
“When you have more than 10,000 Rhode Islanders showing up in a pandemic for a march calling for an end to police brutality and to affirm that Black Lives Matter, we can take this ugly, painful word out of the name of our beautiful state,” Williams said. “We have genuine work ahead of us to bring about true equality and justice for all. We are collectively taking this step as an inclusive symbol to demonstrate that we are all Rhode Islanders. Period.”
Gov. Gina Raimondo and the General Assembly had announced in June that “Plantations” would be dropped from official state documents.
A similar measure put to voters in 2010 failed to pass.
The current bill would require a simple majority to permanently change the state’s name.
©WLNE-TV/ABC6 2020
