Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass functions where Black people are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived 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 February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a elected representative feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to scrub Black history and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on 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 naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is required. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
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 across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.