Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where African descendants are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. 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 Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is observed is a reflection 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 hindered the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels emboldened to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to erase African American heritage and narrative from the records is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue things like Black History Month altogether, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to minor insults, but faced with the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
