Metts Introduces Resolution to Allow Voters to Remove “Providence Plantations” from RI’s Name

Metts Introduces Resolution to Allow Voters to Remove “Providence Plantations” from RI’s Name

On Wednesday, Senator Harold M. Metts (D – Dist. 6, Providence) introduced a resolution in the Senate that, if passed, would allow Rhode Islanders to vote on a referendum on the November ballot allowing voters to change the official state name.

The proposal would eliminate “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name, “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” because according to Metts the outdated reference conjures an image of a time and place when slavery was widely accepted.

Metts and State Representative Joe Almeida led the drive to change the state’s name a decade ago as well. In 2009, he sponsored the Senate version of the resolution that placed a similar question on the 2010 General Election ballot. The question was defeated by the voters, but Metts believes the time has come to ask the public again.

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In 2010, Rhode Islanders rejected the removal of “plantation”  by a margin of 77.9% to 22.1%.

“A decade has passed since the public was asked this question. Attitudes may have changed substantially, even in the past few years – and even in the past few weeks,” said Metts. “Whatever the meaning of the term ‘plantations’ in the context of Rhode Island’s history, it carries a horrific connotation when considering the tragic and racist history of our nation.”

He continued, “The images that come to mind when I hear the word ‘plantations’ are of the inhuman and degrading treatment of the African-Americans who came before me, families ripped apart by slave sales, rapes and lynchings. 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.”

Because the name change requires a constitutional change, it must be approved by the voters.

It is co-sponsored by Senators Sandra Cano (D – Dist. 8, Pawtucket) and Ana B. Quezada (D – Dist 2, Providence), President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio (D – Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence), and Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin (D – Dist. 1, Providence).