Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where African descendants are compensated to address Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, far-right parties are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the observance represents how minimally it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the conditions of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework 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 living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
