Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's 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 heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established 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 movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Holland.
The period has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to scrub Black history and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the conditions of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.
