Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has developed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the America, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase the history of people of color and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the month symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (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 extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but faced with the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
