This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where African descendants are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering 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 member of parliament feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the US, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A campaign to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of historical achievements, rather than confronting the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an framework that a lot of work has been dedicated to. 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 look like? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and responsive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
