This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has developed since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the month is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the state. A effort to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the celebration represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month altogether, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
