This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate events where Black people are compensated to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the observance is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in British history. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic 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 various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
