Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the United States 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 developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a entirety.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A campaign to remove Black history and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that 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 symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
