This commemorative month is a reflection of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The month has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the US, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the month symbolises how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue events including Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed through the year (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
