The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated 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 multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to erase Black history and experience from the records is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for citizens, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who celebrate it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
