The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, 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 celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the Britain, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating 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 method the observance is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
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 revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the United States, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A campaign to scrub Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the month represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
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 temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges 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 tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as various establishments are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
