Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since its inception, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the current time in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A campaign to remove the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as certain organizations are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.
