The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to remove African American heritage and narrative from the archives is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
