Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A drive to scrub Black history and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
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 difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an framework that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from governmental matters, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.
