Petitions Circulated To Change Names Of City Of Plantation, Broward County
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Calls for change continue to grow louder in South Florida and a petition to change a local city's name is gaining momentum.
Those calls include changing the names of places that some say stir up memories of racism. There are efforts to rename the city of Plantation and the name of the county it sits on, Broward County.
Practically on every block in downtown Broward, there is a building with the name Broward on it.
Many people do not know the history, but for some, it triggers very painful feelings. Same could be said for the city of Plantation just west of Fort Lauderdale and that is why some are calling for change
In Plantation, they say the grass is greener, but in the city of beautifully landscaped homes, some say the name needs a reset.
"It's time. It's a social awakening and I think it's just time for change," Dharyl Auguste said. The Plantation resident started a petition to change the name.
He says Plantation conjures memories of slavery on the plantation.
"Kind of takes us back to a shameful point in our nation's history and it's just it's just hurtful," he adds.
The petition is getting traction. It would mean huge changes with everything from street names churches and schools, containing the name Plantation.
"We've just been met with just some sort of really crazy hatred, just threats and comments on who we are as people, and it's just kind of like an ugly underbelly of just kind of how these types of things work," adds Dharyl.
Despite that calls for change are getting louder.
"This is really the time," said Kyle Hill, who started the change.org petition to change Broward County's name.
Napoleon Broward was governor 115 years ago and after his writings revealed he was a segregationist, his statue was removed from the courthouse in 2017.
There are a lot of different opinions on these matters and as the petitions keep growing, names keep being added, but it's unclear exactly how long and how many names would be needed to exactly get this kind of change.
Those wanting the change are willing to wait.
