The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where Black people are paid to talk to Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.
The Origins of Black History Celebration
Originally observed in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, Ireland and the Holland.
The observance has transformed since its inception, giving reduced attention to the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a entirety.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to remove African American heritage and experience from the archives is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.
Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how little it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the situation of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a prof at a learning establishment, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an framework that a considerable labor has been dedicated to. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a era that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Establishments who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that face all if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and adaptive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.