In these times of sensitivity to matters of identity and culture, how can it be that the ultra-generic name “Riverfront” honors the meaning and significance of the gifts Franco Americans have given to Lewiston and the wider world better than “The Franco Center” does?

While it has been argued that names are not important, anyone who has named a child or a business or has roots in a place knows that this is simply untrue. Names are the first and foundational carriers of ancestry, heritage and culture. Names are also imbued with the spirit, memory and dreams of those who chose them with intention and care while planning, fundraising and transforming their visions into reality.

If anything, the widespread outrage about the Franco Center board’s bait-and-switch shows that names do, indeed, carry fundamentally important meaning.

With millions of places across the U.S. with the name “Riverfront” in them, bumping “Franco Center” to secondary status is an affront not only to its core vision, mission and history, but also to the dedication, determination and generosity of Franco Americans and others who volunteered years of their lives bringing it — against great odds — into existence.

May the Franco Center Board of Directors use the overwhelming response to submerging “Franco” under the “Riverfront” as an opportunity to reconsider its decision.

Maura Murphy, Lewiston

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