Owners of the Plantation Country Club in Garden City, Idaho, are looking at the history of the word and wrote that the name “did not reflect the vision we had for the club’s future: a modern, inclusive, and welcoming club for all members of the community.”
Plantation Country Club in Garden City, Idaho is changing its name in an apparent reaction to the word “plantation’s” racist past, the Twin Falls Times-News reported. It’s a change to a name that’s steeped in the country’s history of slavery.
The California business Glass Creek LLC purchased the golf course and country club in December 2018, the Times-News reported.
“We felt from the beginning that ‘Plantation Country Club’ did not reflect the vision we had for the club’s future: a modern, inclusive, and welcoming club for all members of the community,” General Manager Jayson Petersen wrote in a Facebook post.
The name change comes at a time not only of new ownership but amid global protests against police violence against people of color in the United States, notably the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, the Times-News reported. The city of Plantation in Florida is considering changing its name in light of the current dialogue about race.
In just the past week, the cultural shift inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement is forcing entrenched national brands, including Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat and Uncle Ben’s, to rethink and change the images that hype their decades-old product names, the Times-News reported. NASCAR recently announced a ban of all Confederate flags, as did the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Military branches are considering renaming bases that are named after Confederate figures, as are schools and other institutions.
The Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise, Idaho is removing a stained-glass image of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from its sanctuary, the Times-News reported. A Meridian resident started a petition to rename a Robert E. Lee Campground in Boise County and nearby Robert E. Lee Creek.
Several years ago, the Reynolds Plantation golf and recreation resort in Greensboro, Ga. changed its name to Reynolds Lake Oconee.
A new name for the Plantation Country Club has not been announced, the Times-News reported.
“It’s important that we rename the club,” Petersen wrote. “We are currently in the process of finalizing our new name and look forward to announcing the exciting update in the near future. This is a club where members, their families, and their guests are always welcome. In this spirit, let’s move forward together.”
Petersen added that as Glass Creek is redesigning and redeveloping the golf course, the Times-News reported. They had planned to unveil a new name along with those changes.
“The club name should authentically reflect today’s environment and values,” Petersen wrote. “In hindsight, the decision to wait to change the name was a mistake, for which ownership takes full responsibility.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.