The annual Black History observance acts as a gauge of the current political climate, so in what ways can we modernize it?
This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, expanding to include gatherings where African descendants are remunerated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests generated a rise in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness 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 “Negro History Week” by African American historian 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 publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The observance has evolved since its inception, placing less emphasis on the histories of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
A Disconcerting Period
Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a source of worry. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the historical documents is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.
Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how minimally it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Figuring out how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just do away with events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an era that has failed to deliver.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – form an foundation that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (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 distributed across all seasons (as various establishments are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) 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 use is mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.
