This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include events where African descendants are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The month has evolved since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the America, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the records is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an framework that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the history when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and awareness of subtle slights, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
