Black History Month is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The month has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and more on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the month is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to erase the history of people of color and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be impactful if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
