Moonlight was one of the most talked about films this year and defied all odds when it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It was an independent film that showed the coming of age story of two Black male best friends in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.
The film’s director, Barry Jenkins, and writer, Tarell Alvin McCraney, are both natives of Liberty City, which they made clear during their Oscars acceptance speech, saying, “We’re two boys from Liberty City, representing the 305.”
Moonlight was filmed on location in the area and now Liberty City wants to thank the filmmakers for their recognition by naming a street after their work. The ‘Miami New Times’ reports a portion of NW 22nd Avenue will be called “Moonlight Way.” The bill, which was passed unanimously, is sponsored by Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, because she says the film captured the experience of growing up in the neighborhood.
“This goes out to children still living here in the inner city that are told they’ll never amount to anything,” said Edmonson.
“It shows that it doesn’t matter how you were raised or where you grew up. You can still turn out to be someone.”
Moonlight isn’t the first film to have a street bearing its name. In Brooklyn, Spike Lee has Do the Right Thing Way.
