Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where African descendants are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. 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 tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has developed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to remove African American heritage and experience from the records is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be effective if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Establishments who mark it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
