This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where Black people are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and experience from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how little it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts 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 things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an era that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
