Phil Murphy, New Jersey, signed a bill on Friday to end the title of “free agent” as a position for state leaders, replacing it with “provincial commissioner” as part of the response of the state on what Murphy called a “national” account “on racism.
“Amid a nationwide bill to re-examine ranks rooted in structural racism, this action will eliminate the use of the term ‘Liberal’ in the province’s province – a title that a outgrowth is of a time when people of color and women were excluded from public office, ”said Murphy, a Democrat, in a statement.
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The bill will go into effect in January and requires counties to update their letterheads, desktops and websites. It also requires that the “boards of elected freelancers” be replaced by “boards of provincial commissioners.”
According to NJ.com, debate over use of the term in the state has been going on for years, but it intensified along with a new focus on race in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
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The name originates from the United Kingdom and refers to someone who had land free of debt, and in turn transferred to pre-revolutionary America, the outlet reported. Being a “freeholder” meant that they had a clear estate and were the owner of property.
But critics of the term said that only landowners could keep office, and because Black men and most women could not own property, it kept white men in power.
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“The term freelancer is outdated and it is offensive to women and minorities,” spokesman Craig Coughlin said in a statement. “The term dates back to a time before the Revolutionary War, when only white male owners of debt-free land were allowed to hold public office. New Jersey is the only state in the country that still uses the term freelancer. It’s a long time ago that we did this wrong and changed the title to Commissioner. ”
