The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where Black people are compensated to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The period has transformed since that time, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are surging in Europe 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 state. A effort to remove Black history and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration represents how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
