This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass functions where Black people are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has developed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic 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 mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase African American heritage and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance symbolises how insufficiently 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 restricted time span means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? 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), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
