Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a corporate feel, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are compensated to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A drive to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but confronted with the risks that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
