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Black History Month Essay

900 Words4 Pages

As the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library celebrates Black History Month, it is being thrust to the forefront of the homelessness crisis. The public landmark is morphing into a safe haven for the homeless seeking refuge and shelter, particularly since affordable city housing has decreased. This year, the hub of all Washington D.C’s public libraries, located in the heart of Chinatown, is hosting a series of events throughout Black History Month, highlighting African American culture and honoring the lives and legacies of civil rights activists who helped improve social, economic and educational conditions for all African Americans in the United States. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library provides the public with numerous …show more content…

A statistic that led D.C Mayor Muriel E. Bowser to vow to manage the endemic homelessness in the city. The seriousness of the situation can be evaluated by anyone who roams the streets of the city, especially during winter, when homeless men and women amass in parks, Metro stations or any other places where they can stay relatively warm. Washington D.C. has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States, with 120 homeless people per 10,000 residents, keeping in mind that the national average is about 18. The council’s study also revealed a shortage of living-wage jobs which calls the attention to the lack of affordable …show more content…

Some of them even sleep alongside the library walls. Ed Sims, a homeless man who has been without a roof for almost a decade, said that spending the night next to the library building is more convenient for him, as he does not have to commute, and can start his day by using the library facilities. With the growing number of people in need of shelter, the city government is resorting to motel rooms outside the District, with entire families being placed in motels in the Maryland area. “If the weather allows it, I don’t mind sleeping outside. When you’ve been on the streets for 10 years, you get tough”, Sims, 61

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Black History Month is an amazing month. It 's a month where incredible things have happened, many great people have done incredible things in this month. Black History month is based of many people, my favorite is Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great man and he did many great things until unfortunately on April 4,1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot and killed by a white racist man James Earl Ray was sentenced into 99 years in prison. James escaped prison and then was soon recaptured and added one more year to total of 100 years in prison.

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When thinking of black history month and how so many people fought for the rights of African American people, most of think of patriarchs like Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, but how many of us know of the feats done by people like Claudette Colvin or Noble Drew Ali? Many people such as them go unheard of during this time of year and yet, they have accomplished such high feats considering what they went through. Being a minister and a politician who denounced racism like Henry McNeal Turner or the protests that prisoned Soledad Brothers began have not been recognized for so long and its time to remind people of what they have done. Many feats have been done, such as leading a revolt against a police station that refused to do the law services to a black family in need or the case of going against imperial influence from Britain. You can only wonder who else went unnoticed.

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These “homeless shelters” were very unsanitary and often unstable. They were built from “tin, tar paper, salvaged lumber, and canvas that offered little protection from the elements” (Asher). Even though Hoovervilles were dirty and disgusting, they were a necessity for many Americans. “Hundreds of thousands of families lost their homes; as many as 2 million men, women and children wandered the highways of America seeking shelter” (Brands 34-41). Hoovervilles, though they may not provide the best means of protection, were the only things homeless Americans could use for shelter.

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Black History Month started in 1915 and was made to appreciate colored people and has carried on for centuries and is still around. The good and the bad in the declaration. The good is the African-Americans won at the declaration at court. The Whites thought it was a problem because of how they saw African-Americans(Negroes).They thought their white children wouldn 't get as much education.

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In the United States homelessness has been a substantial problem for decades. The reason for homelessness is greatly debated especially

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Homelessness is a complex social issue with a variety of economic and social factors such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, physical and mental health, addictions, and community/family breakdowns. Homelessness has increased its number by at least a 1% since last year, reached nearly 554,000 people who are living in harsh conditions. The government and its policies/bans only harm the homeless instead of being beneficial to them. With the “City wide bans on camping in public have increased [along with the]… city wide bans on sleeping in public…, sitting or lying down in particular places… [and,] bands on sleeping in vehicles have [all] increased”(Wiltz).

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As reported by the National Coalition for Homelessness,

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The issue of homelessness in America has been evident since the early 1600’s. Across the country men, women and children spend their nights on the streets not knowing when or if they will ever find a permanent home. States and federal officials or city councils have tried to alleviate or at least reduce the number of homeless over the last several decades at a city, state or national level but it continues to be an ongoing problem. There is a multitude of factors that account for the growing homeless population that affects each state in the country differently. Though there are many contributing factors that contribute to the amount of people living on the street at any given night in the U.S.

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