Black History 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 appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how important 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 party is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to scrub Black history and narrative from the records is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it ignores the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
