Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize 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 festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a elected representative gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the America, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A campaign to remove African American heritage and experience from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance represents how minimally it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the current era. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the past when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
