Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the narratives of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how little it can be impactful if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just discontinue events including Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
