Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are remunerated to address Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
