February is Black History Month and every so often I hear people complain that it is celebrated in the shortest month of the year. Let’s highlight one part of that sentence. It is a month-long celebration and there is only one other ethnic group that has a month-long celebration which is Hispanic Heritage Month. As a matter of fact, Hispanic Heritage Month encompasses two months (Sept. 15 thru Oct. 15).

 Let’s compare this to other ethnic celebrations. The Italians have a big celebration on Columbus Day which the powers that be want to rename Indigenous People’s Day. The Irish celebrate their heritage on St. Patrick’s Day. Let’s face it, everyone is honorary Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. It is a fun holiday where people dress up in green and enjoy the Leprechauns and corned beef and cabbage. The Puerto Rican Day Parade normally takes place in June.

 The reason that Black History Month falls in February is because of Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12th) and Fredrick Douglas’s Birthday (February 14th), so it makes sense that February is an excellent month to celebrate Black History.

 Now, to mention something that will make some people uncomfortable, but has to be said.

We need to address the problems in our communities which has been going on for a very long time and you cannot blame white supremacists: Black on Black crime. I would love to see our prominent black leaders in all different spectrums. I address this issue not only through lip service. Where are the marches to these communities in distress where the gangs and drug lord’s rule? How can you comfort the families who have lost their children to gang violence? Some of these songs that are coming out who glorify violence and thug life (certain rap culture) are doing nothing but making money off of those who could least afford it. Yet, I have to give kudos to some artists, even though I despise their music such as Cardi B who gave money to the families who lost their lives in the recent New York fire as well as another artist by the name of Megan Thee Stallion who also donated money to victims of fire. If you ask me to name a song from either one of them, I could not. I would love to see some of these entertainers actually go into drug and gang infested neighborhoods and arrange a meeting with the residents. I’m sure they have more than enough money to provide their own security.

 A lot of people who live in these distressed neighborhoods only want to make sure that they are safe and that their children can be safe in their neighborhoods as they walk to school and get a good education. There are times when a mother would say, “My kid was smart and all of a sudden I hear a scream and my child is dead on the street.”

 This has got to stop and needs to be addressed. You had protests worldwide when George Floyd was murdered as well as other cases when other people were victimized. What bothers me is that a large amount of these protests were not peaceful and there were a lot of victims who suffered collateral damage and are still suffering. Their communities and businesses were destroyed and what kind of help have they received? A majority of these communities and businesses were in minority neighborhoods.

So, these are just some of the things that I think about this, I know that George Floyd’s family received a multimillion-dollar settlement from the city of Minneapolis and the GoFundMe Page was one of the highest fundraising goals ever reached. When George Floyd was buried, his entire funeral was covered by celebrities, and he was even buried in a gold casket. Wouldn’t it be great if some of that money was put into these distressed communities to uplift people and help wipeout gang and drug activity? In my opinion, this would be a start in the right direction.

As always, I value your opinion. Carolyn M.