This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where African descendants are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact 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 month is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to erase Black history and experience from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the month illustrates how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment 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 vestiges of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
