Black History Month is a reflection of the current political climate, so how do we revamp it?

It's Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a reassessment. Throughout its history, an event that was initiated as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass functions where African descendants are paid to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.

The Background of Black History Month

Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived 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 second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.

The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the celebration is commemorated is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to dismantling: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.

A Troubling Time

Few things illustrate how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are growing in Europe as a whole.

In the US, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, often successfully, to the highest courts of the country. A campaign to erase African American heritage and legacy from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.

In this context, the observance symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is confined to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized festivities of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also shows how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The problem with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”

Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an time that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of campaigns for equality – local anti-racism groups, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form 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, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid politics, and allows opportunity for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves simple recognition of the bygone era when it fails to address the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and responsive. It could be that an complete renaming is necessary – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.