The systematic cleansing of all public references to the Old South continued this week, with a Florida town council voting to rename the racially divisive "Old Dixie Highway." They're name of choice: "Barack Obama Highway," which the mayor urged council members to vote for despite "divisive thoughts."

The Palm Beach Post reports:

There might soon be a place where Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. meet — and it won’t be just in the hearts of Americans who revere both men.

Riviera Beach City Council members voted 4-1 Wednesday night to rename the section of Old Dixie Highway that runs through their city in honor of the 44th president. Because Old Dixie is a Palm Beach County road, the county would have to approve of the name change.

The reason for the name-change, explained Riviera Beach Mayor Thomas Masters, was that "Old Dixie" still "invokes memories of racism and slavery in the Old South." According to local NBC-affiliate WPTV News, Masters urged council members to "rise above any divisive thoughts about President Obama and get rid of the Old Dixie name."