This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include events where African descendants are paid to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since those days, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how little it can be influential if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
