Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where African descendants are paid to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The wave has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of 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 Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the current situation of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
