The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the celebration is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A campaign to erase Black history and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it fails to address the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the threats that face all if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
