This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where Black people are remunerated to speak with white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Month
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to remove Black history and legacy from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the month symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
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 treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
