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 United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The wave has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, 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 developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase the history of people of color and legacy from the historical documents is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the month illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not shy away from governmental matters, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the history when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.
