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

We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate events where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Background of Black History Month

Initially celebrated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Éire and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The month has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.

A Troubling Time

Little demonstrates how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the current time in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of anti-racism activism, and we are in a situation where a member of parliament feels emboldened to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the European continent as a entirety.

In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the country. A drive to scrub African American heritage and narrative from the records is under way. One of the political figure's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the renowned cultural organization, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

Against this backdrop, the observance represents how insufficiently it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized celebrations of historical achievements, rather than challenging the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at University of Greenwich, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an period that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and tradition of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for people, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves simple recognition of the past when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and awareness of minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Contemporary Black History Month.