Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where African descendants are paid to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has developed since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves simple recognition of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
