The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. 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 tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived 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. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The period has developed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display 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 periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the bygone era when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Establishments who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
