Letter: Black History Month Op-Ed

To the Editor:

February is the shortest month of the year, and yet, it is the month that we assign one of the year's most important celebrations. While some think that Black History Month is a time to learn about racism and slavery, in reality it is much more: It is a time to recognize the contributions of Black and brown people to our society.

According to an article published by Zinn Education Project, the creator of Black History Week, Carter G. Woodson, "believed that Black history was too important to America and the world to be crammed into a limited time frame."

In restricting the celebration of Black history to one month, we are sending a message to American teachers that one month is enough to educate the American youth about the rich diversity and impact of Black history.

Let's first consider the fact that Black history spans a wide variety of topics. Most teachers limit their discussions of Black history to slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, spending only about 9 percent of class time throughout the year on it. I am in no way denying the importance of these topics, however, I believe that there are so many others worth teaching. Things like the Harlem Renaissance, and the many achievements of Black and brown Americans in different fields are largely being neglected in classrooms.

It is my sincere hope that sometime in the future we see Black history get ingrained into the curriculum throughout the year. As I mentioned in the introduction, the creator of Black History Week believed that it deserved to be expanded. In fact, he himself imagined a Black History Year as the evolution of his original concept.

If Woodson believed this back in the early 1900s, then we, in our modern day society, should be able to realize his vision. Learning about Black history year-round can not only help students better understand it, but also can help build a more unified, inclusive community.

Lastly, it is key that we recognize that Black history IS American history. America was literally built on the back of centuries worth of slavery. And on top of that, Black and brown people have done everything from helping America win the space race, to inventing the traffic signal, and performing the first ever successful open heart surgery! With so many incredible contributions, there is no reason why Black history should not be taught as American history. There is no point in making the differentiation, other than to divide.

In conclusion, schools should not limit their discussions of Black history to only one month. With the wide array of topics to talk about, the benefits that would come with lessons on it over the whole year, and the fact that Black history is American history, too, I see no reason for these confinements. I may only be 14 years old, but I hope that you listen to me when I say that the world would be so much better if we made every year Black History Year.

Quinlan Nesbit
North Adams, Mass. 

Quinlan is in Grade 8 at Berkshire Arts & Technology Public Charter School

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

 

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

 

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

 

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

 

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

 

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

 

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."