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 UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has transformed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an foundation that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
