Understanding the need to change name of Plantation Road
I admit it has taken me time to understand the need to change the name of Plantation Road. Unlike the 9-year-old girl I saw on YouTube who wants to change the name of Plantation Road in her city, I never thought about the meaning of that name. If anything, it called up a pre-Civil War image of Tara from “Gone with the Wind,” not the horrific reality of slavery. But at this time of sensitivity to the diversity in our country, I am shaken out of complacency to see the world through others’ eyes.
In Lewes, we are well aware of the value of museums and remembering history. Not too long ago, hotel signs could advertise, “No Negroes Allowed.” Now the signs are more hidden. A Confederate flag is flown, a T-shirt is worn with a symbol that means Ku Klux Klan to those in the know. In Lewes, our celebrations of the past are tourist attractions, not hateful repulsions. What does that street sign say about us? Think about it.
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