The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The surge has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and increasingly on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is observed is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.
