Senate backs name change bill

The Rhode Island Senate has backed a bill allowing voters to decide whether to shorten the state's name, which some argue raises painful images of slavery. Officially, the state is called the "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Legislation approved Friday would allow voters to decide next year whether to drop "Providence Plantations" from the name.

The House adopted similar legislation this week. One of the two bills must be adopted by both chambers before going to Gov. Don Carcieri.
Sen. Harold Metts, a Providence Democrat, says plantations conjure up images of slavery. Merchants in Rhode Island made a fortune off the slave trade.

The bill's opponents say Providence Plantations was the name of a 17th-century settlement and doesn't refer to slavery.