Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has developed a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in winter, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and increasingly 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 learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a elected representative feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to erase Black history and legacy from the records is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration illustrates how little it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just discontinue events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
