Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate events where Black people are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, 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 position where a legislator gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the European continent as a whole.
In the United States, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the situation of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.
