I found a blog tip waiting in my inbox this morning. SYMHC listener Mike sent me a link to an AP article about Rhode Island‘s proposed name change. An effort 12 years in the making, bill (2009-H 5291) sponsored by Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, has finally reached the House. It resolves to strike “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s formal name (the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations).

Almeida calls this a necessary measure to shake off Rhode Island’s historical associations with slavery. In a June 25 press release, he explains, “Regardless of how the name came about, to a lot of us, that name is a painful reminder of the ugly chapter in the nation’s history when our ancestors were treated as property, not people.” Almeida says he wants to “raise awareness” that the state built up its coffers through slave labor and that the institution was a part of Rhode Island culture and commerce until the 1800s.

The proposed name change is a “symbolic” one that will require some rewording of the state constitution and other formal documents and letterheads. Rallying supporters, Almeida reasoned that the name change isn’t a hassle — people already call the state by its abbreviated name, and that’s what the seal and the flag are emblazoned with, too.

In 2000, The New York Times offered its take on the name change in “Think Tank; Rhode Island and Slavery? How Much to Read into an Old Name.” The article cites historian Keith Stokes, who asserts that altering the state’s name is “at best historical revisionism and at worst downright censorship.” It also points out that the word “plantation” isn’t directly correlated to slavery; it’s a “medieval English word describing farmlands.” Merriam-Webster offers three definitions, the first being “a [...] large group of [cultivated] plants,” the second referring to “a settlement in a new country,” and the last meaning “a place [...] under cultivation,” or “an [...] estate usually worked by resident labor.”

Rhode Islanders will vote on the name change in 2010. Do you think it will pass — and do you think it should?

More reading:
Slavery
History of Rhode Island
Geography of Rhode Island