Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. 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 winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since that time, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in Europe as a whole.
In the America, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the country. A drive to remove African American heritage and experience from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance represents how minimally it can be influential if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
