Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so what steps can we take to refresh it?

It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a festivity and recollection of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.

The History of Black History Month

Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.

The period has evolved since that time, focusing less on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on notable African descendants in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is observed is a reflection of the current political situation. How it progresses is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.

A Jarring Moment

Little demonstrates how crucial it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a elected representative feels empowered to state that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a entirety.

In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A campaign to scrub African American heritage and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.

In this context, the month illustrates how little it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Determining how to alter, change and broaden efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate events including Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.

Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and indeed, including corporate presentations – represent an framework that a lot of work has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed through the year (as various establishments are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the history when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and awareness of minor insults, but confronted with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, urgent, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.