Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase African American heritage and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, believing 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 whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Black History is Now Month.