11/27/2019
Dixie highway, a frequently traveled road that runs through the entire state of Florida, may be the topic of much debate in the near future. Commissioner Dennis Moss, senior African American member of the Miami-Dade Commission, has announced his plans to propose that the state-owned section of US1 be renamed Harriet Tubman Highway. As the county would be acting on its own, the name swap would occur wherever Miami-Dade county has authority over roadways bearing the Dixie name.
According to the Miami Herald, Moss said his plan is to introduce legislation to change Dixie to Harriet Tubman on county roads, and then urge both Florida and local governments to change names under their control.
Moss argues that the Dixie name evokes images of slavery, the KKK, and other historical elements of racism, and that Harriet Tubman is the symbolic antithesis of Dixie.
In recent years we’ve seen the removal of Confederate memorials all across the country. Plus Miami-Dade would not be the first Florida county to rename their portion of Dixie highway, or any other roads carrying confederate ties. In 2017, the city of Hollywood and Broward county, renamed three different streets, all originally named after Confederate generals, including Robert E Lee. While in 2015 Rivera Beach renamed their stretch of Dixie Highway, running through Pompano Beach county, after Barack Obama himself.
Moss plans to move forward with this effort in early 2020, as his term will be ending later that year.
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