Black History 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 seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the records is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
