Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the month is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied 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 as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, far-right parties are expanding in the EU as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to remove Black history and experience from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
