This commemorative month serves as a mirror of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has adopted a commercial tone, expanding to include functions where Black people are compensated to talk to Caucasian groups about hidden biases and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Background of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Deutschland, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and more on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the method the month is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to weakening: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels empowered to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in the European continent as a whole.
In the US, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration symbolises how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is required. Denise Miller, a educator at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”
Reevaluating, Not Abandoning
Establishing how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just discontinue things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of activism for racial justice – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out across all seasons (as some institutions are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What use is mere awareness of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but faced with the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.
