This commemorative month acts as a gauge of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where Black people are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The period has developed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the month is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Little demonstrates how important it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
In this context, the celebration illustrates how little it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the situation of the current era. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a professor at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
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 some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
