Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an event that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address white audiences about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, 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. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the records is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – 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, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
