Black History Month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where African descendants are remunerated to address white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States 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 second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the current time in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to remove African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its short period means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. Denise Miller, a prof at an educational institution, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
