Black History Month acts as a gauge of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass events where Black people are compensated to address Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The History of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the observance is celebrated is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader 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 gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.
In the US, a colossal assault against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to scrub Black history and narrative from the archives is in progress. One of the political figure's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is distributed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
