This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (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 more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid political issues, and provides room 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 urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of “microaggressions”, but challenged by the dangers that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
