The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where Black people are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in February, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is observed is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to erase Black history and narrative from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the situation of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is required. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has simple recognition of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
