Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an observance that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since those days, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape 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 African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to erase African American heritage and experience from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the observance represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.
