Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a position where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A effort to erase African American heritage and experience from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the month represents how minimally it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at an educational institution, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an foundation that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is simple recognition of the past when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. Maybe an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
