Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated 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 multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Deutschland, Éire and the Netherlands.
The month has developed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it develops is a instructive case in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to state that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to erase African American heritage and experience from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the month represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed through the year (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
