This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in October in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, 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 method the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how co-option leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how important it is to reconsider Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not evade politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the risks that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.
