The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, expanding to include events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Observance
Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has developed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Jarring Moment
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a elected representative gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to scrub African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration illustrates how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the conditions of the current era. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves simple recognition of the history when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of implicit prejudice and awareness of subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
