Smithfield Town Council deals with street named for KKK leader a third time

On October 2, 2012, the Smithfield Town Council for the third time dealt with the issue of the city street named for John Algernon Domin, Exalted Cyclops of the Rhode Island Ku Klux Klan in 1928. At the last meeting the Town Council decided that since the request to change the name had been rescinded, there was no need to pursue the issue. However, at this meeting, it was revealed that no less than five name change requests have been since then.

So now the issue will not fade away and quietly die, but instead it will have to be dealt with.

But not by the current Smithfield Town Council. the next meeting has been canceled and no decision will be made until after the elections, when a newly elected Town Council will take up the issue, an vote on the recommendations of the Town Manager regarding the name change. These upcoming legislative sessions should be fun.

What has changed is that more local news outlets are picking up the story. originally it was just the Valley Breeze, a free newspaper, and RI Future, a progressive blog. Channel 10 did a piece on it late in the game, but that was it. Now channel six has a piece up on it, as does channel 12 and the Providence Journal.

But the best coverage has always been right here, on this blog: