This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The month has developed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized celebrations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid political issues, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.
