This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where African descendants are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents 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 Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Institutions who observe it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.