The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise 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 raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has evolved since those days, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the observance is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to remove the history of people of color and experience from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on 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 portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the month symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the present. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at an educational institution, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month completely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the dangers that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
