The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection 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 winter, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The month has evolved since those days, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a entirety.
In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to remove African American heritage and experience from the records is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at 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 portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the present. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not avoid politics, and leaves space for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
