This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate gatherings where Black people are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has transformed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the country. A campaign to scrub Black history and experience from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how little it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month altogether, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and awareness of “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
