This commemorative month is a reflection of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where African descendants are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and more on notable African descendants 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 way the month is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to erase Black history and experience from the historical documents is under way. 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 coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just do away with things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and provides room for citizens, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but challenged by the risks that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
