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 seems it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that started out as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where Black people are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the celebration is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
