The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. 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 conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection 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 United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the accounts 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 contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. 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 right-wing political group, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to scrub Black history and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining 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 temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it ignores the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
