The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where Black people are compensated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, 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 second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in February, but also in October in the Britain, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The period has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to remove African American heritage and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
