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 seems it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A campaign to erase Black history and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate 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? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
