The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has developed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical 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 shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. 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 Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a whole.
In the America, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to remove the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
