The annual Black History observance serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are remunerated to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Month
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The observance has developed since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to declare that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A effort to remove African American heritage and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the former president's early administrative commands focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the month represents how minimally it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. An academic expert, a educator at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month completely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an period that has not worked.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.
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 throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Establishments who mark it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but faced with the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
