Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since that time, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the country. A campaign to erase African American heritage and experience from the records is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the past when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
