The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are compensated to address Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the month is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining 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 completely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.