Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has developed since those days, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating 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 manner the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase the history of people of color and legacy from the records is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not shy away from governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
