Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is celebrated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A campaign to scrub Black history and experience from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. 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 appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
