The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the political moment, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are remunerated to talk to Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
Originally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established 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 evolved from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the North America in February, but also in autumn in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the observance is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.
A Jarring Moment
Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the recent season we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to scrub Black history and narrative from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the celebration illustrates how minimally it can be impactful if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is needed. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What value has basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.
