"Accept the true and accurate history of what Rhode Island participated in, because it's out in the open," Williams said. Others didn´t. cnn. Conley said before the vote. "You want to wipe that away?". It is named for a large island in Rhode Island Sound. Voters in Rhode Island took to the polls on Tuesday to vote on a referendum that would change the state's official name. Rhode Island's official name includes "Providence Plantations" after the name of a settlement founded in 1636 by Roger Williams that now includes the state's capital city, according to, Although Rhode Island passed a law in 1652 banning African slavery, it was never enforced and the state later "played a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade," according to. Rhode Island was either named for the Isle of Rhodes (in the … Rhode Island Some thought the island looked liked Rhodes, an island in Greece. Rhode Island's historian laureate, Patrick Conley, opposed the measure. "The word 'Providence' is for God's divine providence in giving Roger Williams a place to establish the American principle of religious liberty and church-state separation," Conley said of Providence Plantations' founder. The island's name might be derived from erod, Phoenician for snake, since the island was home to many snakes in antiquity. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order on Monday that will change the state’s official name on government documents, shortening it from “The State of Rhode Island … Plantations in the Deep South owned by wealthy white landowners often tasked enslaved black Americans to do the fieldwork, 60% of whom picked cotton. CNN projects Rhode Island voters have approved a measure that will strike "and Providence Plantations" from the state's name: "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. The state of Rhode Island is moving to change its official name — "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" — due to its connection to slavery. The official name of the state is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations which was adopted from the amalgamation of the four localities namely the Newport, Portsmouth, Providence Plantation and Warwick settlement. Rhode Island voters will decide on Election Day whether or not to remove the phrase “Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name. Rhode Island's formal name is 'the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.' "My opposition is purely historical," he told CNN, insisting his opposition is not racist. "If people knew Rhode Island's role in the slave trade, they would be more understanding," Metts said before the vote. The smallest state of the union, Rhode Island, also has the longest official name of any of the states: "State of Rhode Island". cbs news . SEE FULL COVERAGE. The first mention of Rhode Island in writing ("isola di Rhode") was made by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 (he refers to an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay which he compares to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean). It will no longer be known as, quote, "the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." For now, the state's full name, "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," has not officially changed. ", The "Providence Plantations" in the state's official name comes from the settlement founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, which now includes the state's capital, Providence, according to the, Although Rhode Island passed a law in 1652 banning African slavery, it was never enforced and the state later "played a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade," according to the, Rhode Islanders had more enslaved people "per capita than any other New England state," according to the John Carter Brown Library, including on, "Between the transatlantic slave trade and the West Indian provisioning trade, it is hard to imagine any eighteenth century Rhode Islander whose livelihood was not entangled, directly or indirectly, with slavery," according to the. Rhode Island is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. But the order would shorten it to just “Rhode Island”. He said he can trace his own family history of enslavement to a plantation in Virginia. Does that advance race relations in America? "But we need to present the true and accurate history of it entirely, as opposed to just bits and pieces. For the state of Rhode Island , years of acrimony over an official designation with connotations of slavery. There's a move now to change that There's a move now to change that By Alec Snyder, CNN Even before the vote, some state and local leaders had already moved to strike "plantations" from the state's name in official communications by executive orders. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, but the second most densely populated of the 50 US states behind New Jersey. Rhode Island To Change State's Controversial Full Name Voters in Rhode Island have passed a ballot measure that will drop the words "Providence Plantations" from the official state name. Legally, Rhode Island is on the books as the “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” An executive order from Democratic Gov. "What does that accomplish? ", Williams added: "If you don't believe that that word has a life, a real dark painful life, then you're seriously mistaken. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order on Monday changing the way the state’s name appears on all government documents, … (CNN)The smallest state in the nation will no longer have the longest name. The word "plantation" has a connotation associated with slavery leading up to the Civil War. Rhode Island drops ‘plantation’ from state documents and symbols. The state’s official name, “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” appears on state documents. The state's official name is "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," and the "Providence Plantations" portion has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of protests following the death of George Floyd. Rhode Islanders might be used to places with names like “Chepiwanoxet” and “Scituate” but these eight West Coasters are DEFINITELY not. For a state that is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, it is notable that its shoreline on Narragansett Bay in the Atlantic Ocean runs for 400 miles. In the meantime, Rhode Island will cease using the state's full name in executive orders and on the state's official websites and official government documents. Gina Raimondo's executive order struck the term from state documents, and Democratic Providence Mayor Jorge O. 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