The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has peaked, 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 an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a entirety.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
