This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has developed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the month is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the celebration illustrates how little it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month entirely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
