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. 

Jillian Tatro's Killer Guilty of First-Degree Murder

Staff Reports 03:25PM / Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Jillian Tatro

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Berkshire County jury on Tuesday returned a verdict of guilty in the murder of Jillian Tatro four years ago. 

 

Luis Rosado, 53, was found guilty of murder in the first degree with extreme atrocity for stabbing his 38-year-old wife to death in an apartment they shared at 46 Charles St. on May 28, 2022.

 

He and Tatro had been married five months and during that time, Tatro had sought a restraining order against her husband.

 

Rosado had been convicted of domestic violence on another individual in October 2020. At the time, he was charged with three counts of assault and battery on a household member, strangulation and larceny and was sentenced to a minimum of a year in the Berkshire County House of Corrections.

 

He went on trial for murder this past week in Pittsfield and was found guilty by a Berkshire Superior Court jury. Sentencing has not yet occurred. 

 

The conviction was announced on Tuesday morning by Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue at the arraignment of David L. Boucher, who is charged with murder in the death of his father. 

 

"While we were waiting here this morning, [a jury] returned a verdict of guilty in the first degree, cruel and atrocious behavior. So I don't know when the sentence will be. I don't know whether it will be life without parole," he said. "Obviously, I really want to congratulate the North Adams Police Department and all the departments of law enforcement that worked hard on this case."