Regarding Plantation Road, I have to strenuously disagree with the two letters published in the Cape Gazette earlier this week. If there is a word that you and your community – whether that be your ethnicity, faith or sexual orientation – find offensive and painful, I would hope we can respect each other enough to listen.
We've seen many references to the Civil War and the shameful period of slavery renamed and removed over the last few years across the United States. Slavery took place on plantations. Black people were killed, raped, mutilated, separated from family, brutally beaten and starved on plantations. Words matter. Every single reference to plantations in Sussex County evokes slavery. I hope we rename all of them.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
