Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed 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 a week of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The month has evolved since that time, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to erase Black history and legacy from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the observance symbolises how little it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent 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 vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but faced with the threats that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
