Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the month symbolises how little it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
