Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Originally observed 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 a week of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the summer we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to remove African American heritage and narrative from the archives is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the month represents how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is required. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Black History is Now Month.
