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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Florida News Item: "Old Dixie Hwy" Changed To "President Barack Obama Highway"

The above photo was taken in Orlando, Florida
Florida News Item: "Old Dixie Hwy" Changed To "President Barack Obama Highway"
This is happening in Florida.  People who only know Florida as Miami Beach or Disney World have a Hollywood-esque image of this part of the deep south.  Having lived there, however, I can attest to the fact that great swaths of the state invoke echoes of banjo music (di-di-ding-ding-ding), a la the movie Deliverance.
That said, I was surprised to read this today:
Residents of Riviera Beach expressed their concerns with what Old Dixie Highway represents. The proposal itself referenced a time when the highway divided black and white neighborhoods.
Riviera Beach City Council Votes to Change Old Dixie Highway to Barack Obama Highway
“Dixie” was a common nickname for the region in the South which would eventually secede from the Union and fight the Civil War over the right to own slaves. Thus, the name “Old Dixie” is about as blatant an appeal to the old order of white supremacy as one could get; the highway itself used to be the dividing border between black and white neighborhoods during the segregation era. “You have the chance to right the wrong and make a new chapter” said one woman on name change proposal.
Bigots Lose It As Florida City Renames Old Dixie Highway to Pres. Obama Highway
This being America, the spew from the bigots erupted like an exploding outhouse.  As usual, Breitbart serves as their forum.  I won't cite that red rag but a sample is in the above-cited article.


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