This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where Black people are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
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 seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has developed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals 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 America, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders 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 depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
