This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate events where African descendants are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is commemorated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A campaign to remove Black history and experience from the records is in progress. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just discontinue events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
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 dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
