Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are remunerated to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the way the observance is celebrated is a indication of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to erase the history of people of color and legacy from the records is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. Denise Miller, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
