Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament gains confidence to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting 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 necessary. An academic expert, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.
