Black History Month acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. Over the years, an celebration that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate events where African descendants are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in February, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is observed is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to remove African American heritage and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Given these circumstances, the celebration symbolises how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the situation of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are remnants of an era that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of far-right rallies in the urban areas? Institutions who mark it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.
