Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where African descendants are paid to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated 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 remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to remove Black history and narrative from the historical documents is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
