Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where Black people are compensated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The period has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
