Renaming streets diminishes Liberty City community instead of celebrating it | Opinion
Be street smart
To Madam Mayor and Honorable Commissioners of Miami-Dade County,
I strongly oppose the proposed renaming of historic streets in a vital cultural corridor of Miami. While the intent may be to honor local music and artistry, this approach risks diminishing the very community it seeks to celebrate.
Liberty City has long been a beacon of artistic expression, resilience and cultural pride. Residents, business owners and artists have worked tirelessly to foster dignity, heritage and progress. However, renaming streets after rap lyrics — some reinforcing negative stereotypes — undermines these efforts and could deter much-needed investment and growth.
Miami’s contribution to hip-hop and Black culture is significant, but reducing our street names to “Act Up Street” and “Trenches Street” sends the wrong message. Such names risk turning this district into a social media spectacle rather than a hub of progress. Perhaps Commissioner Keon Hardemon views this as a way to engage younger generations. Any changes, however, must align with the long-term vision of empowerment, not parody.
Instead of renaming streets, I urge the commission to honor Miami’s hip-hop legacy positively, through cultural landmarks, festivals, or arts initiatives. More importantly, let’s prioritize long-overdue infrastructure improvements, small business investment and youth programs.
I respectfully ask the commission to reject this resolution and ensure that any changes reflect the values of those who live, work, and create here. Let’s champion progress, not undermine it.
Keith Griffin,
Liberty City
In the spotlight
What a disappointment to learn of Miami Beach Mayor Steve Meiner threatening O Cinema for showing the film “No Other Land.” One of the first victims of war is truth. The reality of what has been happening in Israel in recent months is tragic, sad and wrong. That a Jewish journalist and a Palestinian activist together directed the documentary speaks volumes.
Why not show the documentary and let people choose if it is full of lies or sadly true? If it is offensive or not so?
Many Jewish residents in Miami Beach do not agree with the mayor. If the mayor disagrees with what he thinks the documentary will show, then he should not attend. Instead, let me attend.
Let those of us with an open mind and who are not afraid of the truth see the documentary. These are hard times we are living. Let’s be brave.
Teresa Fernández,
Miami
Social insecurity
Social Security is an entitlement?
Yes, it certainly is! We, the people, are definitely entitled to “our” money, which had been taken out of our paychecks to give us financial security when we finally retired.
What don’t these government people understand?
Barry Levy,
Miami
Beach conflicts
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner voted to oppose pro-LGTBQ measures as commissioner, including naming a street after deceased San Francisco politician Harvey Milk and condemning the Miami-Dade School Board for refusing to recognize LGBTQ History Month. He opined that such matters fall outside the city commission’s purview. Yet Meiner sees no problem using city letterhead and city leverage to try to make a point.
The mayor is wholeheartedly correct in using his role to decry and fight against antisemitism — a huge evil in this city, state and country. That said, it is hypocritical for Meiner to claim the city has no place supporting and protecting other minorities in the city while using city hall.
Censoring and attempting to evict O Cinema for showing an Academy Award-winning documentary film is outrageous. Meiner should continue to fight antisemitism and he should also stand and start fighting against homophobia, racism and sexism in our community.
Jack Lord,
Miami Beach
Historic home
Re: the March 13 online story by Andres Viglucci and Lauren Costantino, “Hostile takeover or righteous claim? Historic Miami church at center of tangled legal dispute.” The contentious two-year dispute puts an important part of Miami’s history in jeopardy: the 100-year-old home of Miami’s first mayor. While the lawsuits continue, it is vital to ensure that the historic home is not lost forever in the process.
Miami’s first mayor, John Reilly, built his home in 1926 in the early suburb of Shenandoah. The two-story residence, constructed on a massive property, is in a vulnerable area that has rapidly been losing historic buildings due to the neighborhood’s gentrification. The current owners, Saint Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Greek Church, purchased the stately residence in 1954, paid off the mortgage in 1960 and have been faithful stewards for over 70 years.
The home next door was built in 1922 from a mail order Sears kit by Mayor Reilly’s daughter and her family. This home is meticulously preserved and the abutting properties offer a rare glimpse of Miami in the 1920’s.
The Villagers, Miami-Dade’s oldest historic preservation organization, support all efforts to save and protect this historic home and support its Historic Designation.
Kelley Schild,
Coral Gables
Holy mineral?
Some people “believe” that fluoride added to our county’s drinking water is not beneficial.
It’s not a religion; it’s science.
Don Deresz,
Miami
Risk of war
President Donald Trump is too ignorant to realize that the surrender of one yard of Ukraine to Russia is the actual first step toward World War III. The sycophant, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is smart enough to realize this but too obsequious to speak truth to power.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin gains ground by war this time, he will see this conquest as a model for future invasions. When he tries to annex Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, or Belarus, his armies will be face-to-face with NATO and the USA.
Charles Sanders,
South Miami
Missing virtues
As a U.S. Army veteran during the Vietnam era, I was appalled to read about the budget cuts President Trump and his billionaire pal, Elon Musk, want to make to the Department of Defense and therefore, our military.
When Trump became eligible to serve in the armed forces, he chickened out by claiming he had painful bone spurs, while his wealthy father allegedly paid a doctor to confirm the fake claim. Those “painful” bone spurs didn’t keep Trump from playing baseball in high school, nor tennis at Fordham University, yet they magically appeared when he became eligible for the military draft.
Has anyone seen Trump limping around on the golf course recently?
Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, but when he came of age for compulsory military service, he fled to Canada to avoid serving his country.
Meanwhile, our draft-dodger president also wants to ban transgenders from serving in the military.
Roger Hammer,
Homestead
Unwelcome gift
The Department of Homeland Security’s recent requirement that all immigrants register reminds me of when Nazi Germany required all Jews to wear a yellow Star of David arm band.
I wonder what the future immigrant arm band will look like?
Charity Johnson,
Miami
Friendly AI
Despite all the current fearmongering, artificial intelligence is not a threat to human beings.
AI is an incredible tool when used properly. Its main value is in its predictive abilities. It can sift through massive amounts of data and discern patterns that the human brain, as predisposed to pattern-seeking as it is, cannot.
But AI cannot replace human thought. It can never write a work of literature. Yes, it can emulate past authors, but it can only do so in predictive ways. Or random ways. What it cannot do is create the unexpected. That is something only a gifted author can do. And by “unexpected,” I do not mean random. I mean the precise turn of events that creates the most surprise in the reader’s mind, and also the sense that what transpired was, in fact, precisely what should have been expected.
Only a human mind can do that. AI will not replace us.
David Frank DeLuca
Palm Bay