Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where Black people are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath 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 created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A drive to erase the history of people of color and legacy from the records is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands 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 portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
