This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where African descendants are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this movement 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, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it progresses 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
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the country. A drive to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the month illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it fails to address the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
