Black History Month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are remunerated to speak with white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the EU as a complete entity.
In the United States, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to scrub Black history and narrative from the records is in progress. One of the former president's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed across all seasons (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but faced with the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
