The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is 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 history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass functions where Black people are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case 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 Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to remove African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
But despite everything, 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 certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the dangers that affect everyone if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
