Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since those days, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to remove African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What value has basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and awareness of “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
