This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where Black people are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly 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 schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the month is commemorated is a indication of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the records is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition 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 gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant 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 beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
