Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The surge has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has developed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how little it can be influential if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a lot of work 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 contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
