The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears 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 taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is celebrated is a indication 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 purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. 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 legislator gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the current situation of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
