This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since that time, focusing less on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the current time in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a elected representative gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not evade politics, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the past when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
