The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include events where Black people are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, 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 lectures and artistic activities. But the method the observance is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to scrub Black history and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month altogether, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the passive language of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the threats that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and responsive. Maybe an complete renaming is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
