This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include events where individuals of African heritage are paid to address Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has evolved since those days, focusing less on the narratives of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A campaign to remove African American heritage and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a prof at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is simple recognition of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be comforted with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but faced with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
