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 seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where Black people are compensated to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative 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 Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is observed is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to scrub Black history and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, 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 indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but confronted with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
