Riviera Beach, Florida is a beautiful town on the ocean that has a major road cutting through it. Historically, blacks lived on one side and whites on the other, although the town has a majority black population. The road was named "OLD DIXIE HIGHWAY" back when segregation was the norm.
Naturally, this has offended most of the residents for years, but this year something has finally been done about it. The mayor pushed hard for a name change, and the residents agreed. It makes sense to honor a great American president who has raised so many of his citizens out of poverty and given them access to healthcare, as opposed to honoring a failed, treasonous enemy of the United States.
The city council agreed and voted 4-1 to rename "Old Dixie Highway" as "President Barack Obama Highway".
As someone who lives in a town that insists on naming roads after Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, this is a nice change. Honoring someone who really helped Florida.
Naturally the rightwing media is outraged over people of a town practicing democracy and voting their interests.
Truthrevolt.org
The systematic cleansing of all public references to the Old South continued this week, with a Florida town council voting to rename the racially divisive "Old Dixie Highway."
Man, our Constitutional democracy sucks, huh?
Youngcons.com complained that the poor residents will have "to live with" the name change and ended by saying
Referedum!Referendum!
Referendum!
Not bothering to research the demographics or voting history of the city. Cuz research is hard. But then we have the morons at Breitbart...
Breitbart
The Palm Beach Post notes...."There might soon be a place where Barack Obama and Martin Luther King meet--and it won’t be just in the hearts of Americans who revere both men,” the Post gushes. Presumably it means Barack Obama Highway will intersect Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard somewhere in the town, although they didn’t feel it necessary to explain the obsequious remark further.
Yes, Breitbart, it does actually meet--as anyone with Google Maps can tell you. Yet, again, I actually bothered to research--something you conservative knuckle-draggers are incapable of.
It's not a done deal yet. It has to go through the Palm Beach County Commissioners for a final vote. However, they are primarily Democrats and I don't think it will be an issue. This puts aside the principle that the city with the road really should get a say in the naming of their roads--especially if they want to remove a name that offends most of its residents.
Nonetheless, if you want to shoot the commissioners an email of encouragement, have at it.
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