🔗 Share this article

This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, broadening to incorporate gatherings where Black people are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.

The History of Black History Celebration

First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the middle 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 October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Holland.

The period has evolved since those days, focusing less on the histories of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and more 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 learning environments where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the way the observance is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.

---

A Disconcerting Period

Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the current time in which it falls this year. In the Britain, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to state that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a complete entity.

In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, frequently with success, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to remove the history of people of color and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.

Given these circumstances, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is detached from the broader ongoing work that is required. An academic expert, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”

---

Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are inadequate for current needs, or are vestiges of an era that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a dynamic entity.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.