Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since those days, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact 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 way the month is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation 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 whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the current era. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an era that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but confronted with the dangers that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
