This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where individuals of African heritage are paid to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Month
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, Germany, Éire and the Netherlands.
The month has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging 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 method the observance is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in the EU as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to erase 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 prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how little it can be influential if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month altogether, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and tradition of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
