The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the way the observance is celebrated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are expanding in Europe as a whole.
In the America, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A drive to erase Black history and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active 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), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
