The annual Black History observance is a reflection of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an celebration that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are paid to address predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice 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 reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
The Origins of Black History Observance
First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The period has developed since its inception, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.
Against this backdrop, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered celebrations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the current era. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”
Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning
Determining how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has not worked.
However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the complete comprehensive structure and legacy of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an infrastructure that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from governmental matters, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of “microaggressions”, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.
