A Miami Street Is Being Renamed in Commemoration of ‘Moonlight’

Never mind the old Chris Rock routine about how Martin Luther King Boulevards across America invariably tend to be especially violent — there’s a great honor in having a street named after you. It’s a concrete way to leave your mark on the world long past the point of your passing, a symbol of accomplishment that nobody can take away from you. Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood is home to Do the Right Thing Way, a commemoration of Spike Lee's essential chronicle of one explosive day on the streets. And now another black filmmaker of great vision and skill will receive this special distinction in parts due south.

Miami-Dade County ruled today that a stretch of street in the Liberty City area would be renamed Moonlight Way, in recognition of Barry Jenkins’ film set in that same location. The Miami New Times announced the news and included a quote from city commissioner Audrey Edmonson, who spearheaded the motion to rename part of NW 22nd Ave after Jenkins’ tender depiction of queer love:

This movie — at least what I got from it — really depicts the life of how a lot of us were raised and what we had to go through and endure as children in the inner city. This goes out to children still living here in the inner city that are told they’ll never amount to anything. It shows that it doesn’t matter how you were raised or where you grew up; you can still turn out to be someone.

A wonderful sentiment, to be sure, though the ‘someone’ that our man Chiron turns out to be is a repressed and deeply unhappy man fearful of the inner workings of his own soul. But a win’s a win, and Miami locals Jenkins and writer Tarell Alvin McCraney have given their community something they can be proud of.