This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in February, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
