Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an event that was initiated as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include events where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, 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 framework that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
