Letter from the Editor

Black Under Attack

My God, does it ever stop? Black people, my people, are always being persecuted, judged, and written off. It’s time for us to stand together, build on what our black leaders have done for us. We might still be slaves if Harriett didn’t trek the underground, we may be still sitting in the back of the bus if Rosa didn’t make a fuss. There’s no telling, only guessing what life would have been like for us without our Black freedom fighters. But trust me, it wouldn’t be pretty. I come to ya’ll with something on my mind this Black history month and the month’s beyond. The lack of unity and understanding between us is disheartening. We as a people are always looking for justification and validation on the outside when it really comes from home.

In 2023, I want us black people to fight for the things that are important to us: better jobs, safer neighborhoods, reduction of gun violence, more ways to make money and smarter ways to spend it. And I want us to band together to attack anything that attacks us. See what happened with Kayne and his rants against the Jews. We can’t let our trauma hold us back, but rather let it unite us and bring us forward. Right now, the thing that is most under attack is our Black history from Florida Governor Ron Desantis, who is on a mission to ban an African American AP History class as a start to a far-reaching ban on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement. To me, this sounds like fear. Fear not only of Black people, but the people of all races who seek to understand our struggle and help the world be a better place. I will tell you, African American history classes aren’t only for Black people, in fact a considerable amount of people from other races love to hear about our resiliency, ability to overcome, creativity, and other inspiring attributes. During this month, I want to thank people like attorney Ben Crump who has been fighting Desantis on his ban. I want to thank people like Joseph Wells of Pompano Beach Middle School who has instilled an underlying current of love when it comes to education, community leaders like T-Dogg of the Pompano Beach Fall Festival who consistently shows people the power of believing in their dreams, politicians like Beverly Perkins and Cyndy Floyd who fight tirelessly for their districts and city, and I would like to thank myself and my family for choosing prayer over malice. So this Black History month, I would like you to find the good in you and the good in your community. How can you use your gifts to make our people stronger? Talk to a friend about it.

We need a change.

Sincerely,

Attiyya Atkins