Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Holland.
The period has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it progresses is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the country. A campaign to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is in progress. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the month symbolises how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a prof at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the passive language of implicit prejudice and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
