Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a whole.
In the US, 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 narrative from the records is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how little it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
