This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an event that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are remunerated to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament gains confidence to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to scrub Black history and experience from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the observance symbolises how little it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an time that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
