After all the handwringing and grousing, the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be renamed today after former San Francisco Mayor and state Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Current San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, and other dignitaries like journalist Belva Davis and Assemblyman Isadore Hall (D-Compton) will be in attendance at a Treasure Island ceremony this morning to make it official. Governor Jerry Brown, who has been vocal about his opposition in renaming the bridge after Willie, will not be in attendance.

Whether pro or con, it's important to note that this is a significant achievement as far as black history is concerned. SF Examiner has more:

Originally, the idea was to rename the entire Bay Bridge, both the eastern and western spans, after Willie Brown, said Alice Huffman, president of the California NAACP. But state Assemblyman Isadore Hall, the Los Angeles Democrat who authored the renaming legislation, said just the western span would be enough, Huffman said.

“It was never just about [Willie] Brown. It was about black history and black people needing to be honored,” said Huffman

Much of the ire in renaming the bridge after Willie Brown (at least ostensibly) was due to the fact that "Da Mayor" is still living. Typically, grand structure renaming gestures like this are reserved for the dead. Last year, if you recall, there was an effort to rename the span after Emperor Norton. That fell flat. But Brown will be alive to see his name grace the bridge.

Now if only he could get those deviled eggs he likes so very, very much.