The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where African descendants are paid to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has developed since its inception, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we saw the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to remove African American heritage and legacy from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how little it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. An academic expert, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with 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.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the history when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with 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. Perhaps an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.
