Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. 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 anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Simultaneously, far-right parties are surging in Europe as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to scrub Black history and legacy from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how little it can be impactful if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as various establishments are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
