By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Ray Henry, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 25, 9:53 pm ET
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The country's smallest state has the longest official name: "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."
A push to drop "Providence Plantations" from that name advanced farther than ever on Thursday when House lawmakers voted 70-3 to let residents decide whether their home should simply be called the "State of Rhode Island." It's an encouraging sign for those who believe the formal name conjures up images of slavery, while opponents argue it's an unnecessary rewriting of history that ignores Rhode Island's tradition of religious liberty and tolerance.
The bill permitting a statewide referendum on the issue next year now heads to the state Senate.
"It's high time for us to recognize that slavery happened on plantations in Rhode Island and decide that we don't want that chapter of our history to be a proud part of our name," said Rep. Joseph Almeida, an African-American lawmaker who sponsored the bill. (link for full text)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090626/ap_on_re_us/us_providence_plantations
Are you kidding me? What, may I ask, is wrong with the name "Providence Plantations"? It's not as if it's called "State of Rhode Island and Whip-Crackers." If that were the case I'd say go ahead and drop it. Slavery happened ON plantations, it was not the function OF plantations.
"A plantation is a large farm or estate where crops that are not consumed for food are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. Such crops include cotton, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, sisal, and various oil seeds and rubber trees..."
What is wrong with the word "plantation"? It's like saying "factory" or "farm". Are we seriously this sensative? Let's re-write history to remove all the things we don't like?
