Black History Month is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are remunerated to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the Britain, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the observance is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A drive to erase the history of people of color and experience from the records is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue events including Black History Month completely, assuming they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants 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 tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the threats that face all if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.
