Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are remunerated to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the country. A effort to remove African American heritage and experience from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What value has mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
