Black History Month is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that began as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where Black people are compensated to address white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the way the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a entirety.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, 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 challenging the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a professor at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
