Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an observance that began as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where Black people are paid to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to erase Black history and legacy from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered commemorations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. A university professor, a professor 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 typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation 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 remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is simple recognition of the history when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
