This commemorative month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are compensated to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and narrative from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance represents how little it can be effective if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the dangers that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
