Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where African descendants are compensated to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A campaign to remove Black history and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming 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 observance illustrates how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates 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, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
