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Cornell University has announced plans to rename Cornell Plantations, a large garden and arboretum located next to the school’s campus, after activists complained the current name is too evocative of slavery.
Cornell Plantations will be known as Cornell Botanic Gardens. Plantations director Christopher Dunn said it’s simply a matter of picking a more fitting name for what the garden is. Typically, a “plantation” refers to a large expanse of land dedicated to a particular crop.
“A botanic garden is all about showcasing the rich diversity of the plant kingdom,” Dunn told the The Cornell Daily Sun. “How can you have a plantation that is a botanic garden? It’s a non sequitur.”
But there’s another reason the school is looking to change the name: a perceived association between the current name and the institution of slavery. Last November, the group Black Students United demanded it be renamed, citing it as an unwelcome “symbol” on campus helping to create an environment “not conducive to the overall success of of students of color.” (RELATED: Ivy League Students Are Threatening Protests Over The Word ‘Plantations’ Now)
In announcing the name change, Cornell admitted the name change was partly motivated by the desire for a name that “fits the mission, vision, values and brand” of the school.
Historically, the label “plantation” has commonly been used for large-scale commercial farming enterprises, in particular those founded in the New World and relying on slave labor. Nevertheless, the term “plantation” itself has no direct connection to slavery. Instead, the word has the more literal meaning of a place where plants have been planted.
Similarly, Cornell Plantations itself was never a slave plantation, and its name is not intended to evoke the practice. Ironically, when the garden received its name in 1944, horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey said it was chosen specifically to reclaim the word’s literal meaning, and suppress its connections to slavery.
Samari Gilbert, the president of Black Students United, praised the name change and told the Daily Sun it would make the Plantations “a more accessible space.”
It’s not the first time the word “plantations” has made people uncomfortable. In 2010, Rhode Island voters decisively rejected a constitutional amendment that would have changed the state’s official name, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The amendment was proposed because many argued the “Providence Plantations” component was outdated and offensive.
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