This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The month has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A effort to remove Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the conditions of the contemporary world. It also shows how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
