Black History Month is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are compensated to address white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
