This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include functions where African descendants are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived 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 February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a whole.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A drive to scrub Black history and experience from the records is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how little it can be effective if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also shows how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
