Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are compensated to address Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and greater focus on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a elected representative gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A campaign to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the archives is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Establishments who mark it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.