The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are compensated to address predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to erase Black history and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the dangers that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and responsive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
