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 United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an observance that started out as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate functions where Black people are paid to address Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness 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 Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is commemorated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a entirety.
In the America, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.
Given these circumstances, the observance represents how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to minor insults, but challenged by the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month.
