The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where African descendants are compensated to address predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is observed is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the month illustrates how little it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
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 starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to minor insults, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
