Black History Month serves as a mirror of the prevailing political atmosphere, so in what ways can we modernize it?
It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where African descendants are compensated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.
The History of Black History Month
Originally observed in the United States and Canada, 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 celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The observance has transformed since those days, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is celebrated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.
A Troubling Time
Hardly anything shows how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the summer we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a elected representative feels empowered to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a source of worry. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in the EU as a whole.
In the United States, a significant offensive against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the records is under way. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how little it can be influential if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a educator 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 becomes a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”
Reconsidering, Not Discarding
Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a urge to just eliminate things like Black History Month entirely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has been ineffective.
But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the bygone era when it doesn’t reckon with the current situation of far-right rallies in the street? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and awareness of “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.