This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, 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 reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that began as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.
The period has transformed since those days, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. 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 right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a complete entity.
In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and legacy from the records is under way. 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 “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
In this context, the observance symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has simple recognition of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.
