PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Islanders have renewed the push to change the state’s unique but controversial Victory Day holiday, which is being observed Monday.
The state is the only one in the nation that still observes the holiday, which commemorates Japan’s surrender ending World War II in August 1945.
The nation surrendered after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands.
Over the years, there have been unsuccessful efforts to discontinue or rename the holiday amid concerns it’s hurtful to Japanese Americans.
An online petition launched last month suggests changing the name to something more