Rhode Island voters officially drop ‘Providence Plantations’ from state name

Rhode Island has dropped “Providence Plantations” from its official state name, according to The Associated Press.

Voters in the state made the new name official on Tuesday, with 52.8 percent voting in favor of Question 1, which renamed the state on official documents, according to the AP.

With the change, the word “plantations” will no longer be found on governor communications or any state agency websites or correspondence. It will be implemented “as soon as practicable,” the AP reported.

The move to change the state’s name was reintroduced in June of this year.

Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed an executive order in the summer to change the name from “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” to “State of Rhode Island,” due to its relationship to slavery, in her future executive orders and on the state website.

“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,” the state’s only Black senator, Harold Metts, who also introduced the bill, said at the time.

In 2010 nearly 78 percent of voters in Rhode Island voted against the state’s name change.