Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Deutschland, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the nation. A effort to erase the history of people of color and experience from the records is under way. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also shows how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
