Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, 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 re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has developed since those days, focusing less on the narratives of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to erase African American heritage and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the month symbolises how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the situation of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Establishments who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
