The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the political moment, so what steps can we take to refresh it?
This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an celebration that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include events where individuals of African heritage are paid to address Caucasian groups about hidden biases and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The tide has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.
The Background of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.
The observance has evolved since those days, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.
A Troubling Time
Little demonstrates how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the recent season we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are surging in the EU as a whole.
In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A drive to scrub Black history and narrative from the records is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the observance illustrates how little it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content festivities of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who observe it should not be comforted with the passive language of implicit prejudice and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and reactive. It could be that an complete renaming is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
