Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where Black people are paid to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived 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 grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The period has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm 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 empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A effort to erase Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month entirely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is simple recognition of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but confronted with the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
