Black History Month serves as a mirror of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where African descendants are paid to speak with Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in February, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is observed is a manifestation of the political moment. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to declare that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A drive to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not evade political issues, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the history when it fails to address the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.
