This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to address white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The period has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the contribution 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 method the month is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to state that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the European continent as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to remove Black history and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how little it can be influential if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, 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 racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. 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 contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
