Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Éire and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to scrub Black history and narrative from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be impactful if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of historical achievements, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has been invested in. 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 look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed through the year (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
