This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created 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 developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson 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 Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
