The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are compensated to speak with white audiences about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian 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. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A campaign to scrub Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an period that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
