Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are paid to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A effort to erase Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the situation of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
