Petition to change the Namesake of the State of Washington from President George Washington (2/22/1732 – 12/14/1799) to George Washington (8/15/1817 – 8/26/1905), son of a former slave, founder of Centralia, WA, and remembered for being a significant and early African American, non-Amerindian Pacific Northwest settler.

The State of Washington became the 42nd state on 11/11/1889. Its namesake is of course the first president of the United States, George Washington. The State of Washington took its name from, in turn, the Washington Territory, land ceded by England in 1846 to the United States. The state name is just an honorific. That is, President George Washington had no ties to, or interest in, what is now the state named after him.

President Washington was and is many things to the United States, and will be remembered for his diverse roles and significant impact on the founding of this country. This petition in no way seeks to reduce or eliminate the part that President George Washington played in the history of the US.

At the same time, this petition does argue that a state should not be named after a slave owner. Yes, President George Washington was a slaver and a racist. As such, the 42nd state should no longer be named in President George Washington’s honor. Black lives mattered to President George Washington, yes, just as his celebrated slave plantation Mt. Vernon mattered to him. Black lives mattered to President George Washington…as property.

But change is possible.

Instead of President George Washington the slaver, the namesake of the 42nd state should be changed to celebrate George Washington, famous African American pioneer. Born in Virginia, and then living in Missouri, he set out on the Oregon Trail after fearing he might lose his freedom because of the (in)famous Compromise of 1850. This George Washington eventually founded Centralia, WA, and was a lifelong a pillar of the community, despite suffering from prejudice and racism. He was instrumental to his community during the so-called Panic of 1893, when Centralia’s lifeline, the railroad, was threatened. George Washington is buried in Centralia’s Washington Lawn Cemetery.

There is precedent for such a namesake change. Most notable locally is Washington’s King County,  the namesake of which was changed from William Rufus DeVane King to Martin Luther King, Jr. on February 24, 1986. The original name, too, was a political honorific of convenience at the time. Notably, King County Council wrote, when making this change, that William Rufus DeVane King “was a slaveowner”; he “earned income and maintained his lifestyle by oppressing and exploiting other human beings.” The county namesake was then changed to Martin Luther King, Jr., whose “contributions are well-documented and celebrated by millions throughout this nation and the world, and [he embodies] the attributes for which the citizens of King County can be proud, and claim as their own.”

Though obviously George Washington of Centralia is not as well known or as influential as Martin Luther King, Jr., he is crucially important to the state of Washington’s history. President George Washington is not, and was not.

Also, like the namesake change for King County, the fact that the state’s namesake would change from (President) George Washington to George Washington (of Centralia) is a happy coincidence. Clearly, though, the state’s flag would need to be changed, as well as other state symbols (state highway signs, for instance). No slave owner should have the honor of being represented on a state flag.

Another nice coincidence. We could also use this change to reclaim our knowledge of George Washington Bush (1779 – 4/5/1863), who was also an African-American, non-Amerindian settler of the Pacific Northwest. He helped to found Tumwater, WA, traditionally home to the Lushootseed, though sadly his name has been largely whitewashed from this history.

In the year 2020, as we honor the #BlackLivesMatter movement and work toward an ever more perfect union, no slave owner should be honored with having a state named after him. In fact, Washington is the only state in the union with such a regressive, racist historical connection to a single person as its name.
 
Please sign this petition to change the State of Washington’s namesake.

Note: You do not need to be from, or to live in currently, Washington state in order to sign this petition. Just as you do not need to be from Mississippi to demand that the state remove the racist Stars-n-Bars scar from their state flag, so, too, with this petition. Anti-racist people from everywhere and anywhere are encouraged to make their position known.

#ChangeWashingtonStateNamesake

#BlackLivesMatter