The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, expanding to include events where African descendants are remunerated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the observance is observed is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to erase African American heritage and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be influential if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
