Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, 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 global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass events where African descendants are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the United States, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A drive to remove African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not evade politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the past when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and responsive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
