Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding 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 “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to remove Black history and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how little it can be effective if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are no longer suitable, 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 campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
