The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The month has developed since those days, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a strong critic of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A campaign to scrub Black history and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be effective if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.