Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event 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 gatherings where African descendants are paid to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The period has developed since that time, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to erase Black history and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how little it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in educational programs. 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 history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and responsive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
