The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in winter, but also in autumn in the Britain, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is celebrated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the US, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A campaign to erase African American heritage and experience from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
