Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an observance that began as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include functions where Black people are paid to speak with white audiences about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise 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 Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. 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 February, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, 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 legislator feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration represents how minimally it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
