This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer 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 firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A drive to remove Black history and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the observance symbolises how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. Denise Miller, a professor at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
