This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, 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 re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an event that began as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where African descendants are paid to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The period has evolved since its inception, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the United States, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to erase African American heritage and experience from the records is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
