Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass functions where Black people are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The surge has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created 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 second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month better than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a elected representative feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to scrub Black history and legacy from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into 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 times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.