Letter: Black History Month Deserves to Be Celebrated Every Day

To the Editor:

My name is Jack Callahan. I am a 14-year-old, white, American boy, and I believe that no matter who you are, where you are, and what you believe in, we the people have an obligation to celebrate the beauty of the people and cultures around us.

Some people will ask why we should care about Black history and if we, as Americans, are all equal, why do Black people deserve a month of recognition when we, non-Black Americans, don't. The truth is that we are not equal.

As the world advances, our built-in white superiority complex should not advance with us. Data presented by "The Hill" states that as of 2021, there are 18 states that have created bans and restrictions on the education of racial topics. This indicates that the American government is trying to reinstate the concept of Black people not mattering to our society. Yet we know, every race and ethnicity brings countless benefits. Black culture and history continue to flourish but we as a society have decided to push it to the shortest month of our year when it should constantly be admired throughout our calendar year.

It is essential to shed light upon the people whom white people have discriminated against over so many years in so many different ways. Even though America has done their best to wash Black culture down the drain, there are visionaries that have combatted and made an admirable stand. Most people will look to someone like Rosa Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King, but I would like to use some of the words from one of today's biggest names, Kendrick Lamar.

In "Alright," Lamar claims, "we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo' sho,'" pointing out the issue of police brutality which is only one of many harmful aggression against people of color. This further urges all races and ethnicities to unite and acknowledge that all minorities deserve to be safe and have a voice; I believe the best way to do this is to celebrate the history of Black people every month because it is nothing but what they deserve.

Black history should be celebrated every month of the year. To ignore Black history is to ignore part of ourselves. To become a strong and healthy nation, America needs to empower every one of its people. This is best done through celebrating everybody everyday.

Jackson Callahan
North Adams, Mass. 

North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 

 

She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 

 

"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."

 

Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 

 

The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."

 

Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."