Black Funeral Directors Do Battle Every Day

Outside I am watching two ducks attempt to mate, splashing around on a half-frozen pond. Ahh, spring! Even little bunny hop has made an appearance, so, despite the threat of a snowstorm tomorrow, spring is coming along. We have brought back ice coffee and coffee ice cubes at the cafe, plus our famous hard-boiled eggs.

I read in the WSJ last night about how black-0wned funeral parlors are being hammered by violence, forcing many of the older proprietors to try and get out of the business. The number of blacks who die by murder is just about the same as for whites...even though there are only 13% as many blacks as whites in the US. Funeral directors today are seeing fights break out and the home has to be locked down when attendees bring their guns.

At one time the funeral parlor was considered a safe zone--doors weren't locked and it was a sanctuary, even for relatives of a victim of a homicide. But now, says one funeral home owner, "Nobody respects life and the young folks nowadays don't mind dying." So most homes now have video cameras and owners are carrying firearms. The extra security required at many funerals adds $500 to the bill, that averages about $4500.

One sad story about the funeral of a drug dealer ended in fisticuffs. "One dude punched me in front of the casket. The dead man's son was there and he got punched and his father was punched. My professionalism went out the window. This wasn't in the job description and it doesn't come with the job," said a funeral director from Cincinnati.