The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an observance that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass events where African descendants are remunerated to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the Britain, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month better than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a entirety.
In the America, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A campaign to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of subtle slights, but challenged by the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
