The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where African descendants are compensated to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the US, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to erase African American heritage and experience from the archives is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than challenging the conditions of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the history when it fails to address the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
