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. Over the years, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate gatherings where African descendants are paid to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The surge has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month better than the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a elected representative gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a whole.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the history when it fails to address the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and adaptive. Perhaps an complete renaming is required – Black History is Now Month.
