This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A effort to remove Black history and narrative from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), 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 spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, 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 current situation of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
