The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are compensated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in February, but also in autumn in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to remove the history of people of color and experience from the records is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
