This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has transformed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to remove African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed through the year (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.