Voters in five U.S. states vote to abandon racism signs
In addition to the election of the president and members of Congress, voters in some areas expressed their opinions on whether to change the name of the state or amend the state law on the same day.
The Associated Press reported on the 8th that according to the voting results, five states, including Alabama and Rhode Island, decided not to display signs and language involving racism in public.
According to the voting results of voters in Utah and Nebraska, an unenforceable clause in state law that “punishes criminals with slavery” will be deleted. In Utah, 81% of voters support this law amendment; in Nebraska, 68% of voters support amendments to the state law.
Approximately 67% of voters in Alabama support the removal of provisions related to the apartheid system in the state law, including prohibiting interracial marriages and requiring schools to implement a apartheid system. The court previously ruled that these clauses were invalid, but the relevant clauses remained in the state law. Since 2000, Alabama has held two referendums on whether to delete the above clauses, but none of them passed.
71% of Mississippi voters recognized the NSW flag pattern. The state legislature passed a bill at the end of June to abolish the state flag that has been used for more than 100 years and contains the flag of the Confederate States of America, and requires the flag of NSW not to contain this flag. The original state flag is the only flag that retains the Confederate flag among all the state flags in the United States, and is regarded as a residual symbol of racism in the southern United States.
53% of voters in Rhode Island agreed to change the state name. The full name of Rhode Island State is “Rhode Island and Providence Plantation State”, usually referred to as Rhode Island State. The name change proposes to delete the expression “with Providence Plantation” that is reminiscent of slavery. In a similar referendum in 2010, most voters did not agree to change the state name.
In recent years, there has been constant discussion in the United States about whether to remove racist markers. In May of this year, the police brutally enforced the law to the death of African American George Freud and triggered anti-racism demonstrations, prompting many people to reexamine the issue.
Brendan Skip Mark, a political science lecturer at the University of Rhode Island, said that Freud’s death “triggered racism discussions across the country. Many people are now more willing to take concrete actions to deal with racism than before.” .
Stacey Mock, a lecturer in social work at the University of Alabama, said that the votes for these changes indicate that “some Americans are willing to provide more inclusive communities. These changes alone are not enough, but they are moving in the right direction.” Good sign”.
