Voters to get say in dropping 'plantations' from R.I.'s name
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Voters will get another chance to strip the words “and Providence Plantations" from Rhode Island's formal name after lawmakers approved a joint resolution to put the question on the November ballot. Although the word “plantations” in Rhode Island’s name does not specifically refer to a place where slaves labored, it elicits such imagery, say sponsors of the bill approved Thursday. Rhode Island was incorporated as The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations when it ratified the Constitution in 1790, but the name dates to pre-Revolutionary times. Gina Raimondo last month signed an executive order to remove the phrase “and Providence Plantations” from some official documents and executive agency websites. The ballot question would make the change official in the state’s constitution if approved by a simple majority of voters.