This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The month has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration 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 position where a member of parliament feels empowered to state that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the records is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but confronted with the dangers that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
