Black History Month is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so how do we revamp it?
This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Throughout its history, an observance that began as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where Black people are remunerated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
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 a week of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the North America in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The month has evolved since that time, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a elected representative gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a entirety.
In the United States, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to erase the history of people of color and experience from the records is in progress. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a educator at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an era that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Institutions who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of implicit prejudice and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.
