Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in February, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to scrub Black history and experience from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at 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”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay 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? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that face all if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
