🔗 Share this article

It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are compensated to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The tide has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.

The Origins of Black History Celebration

First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the Holland.

The period has transformed since those days, giving reduced attention to 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 widely honoring the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the political moment. How it progresses is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.

---

A Disconcerting Period

Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the recent season we observed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a elected representative feels empowered to declare that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in Europe as a whole.

In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A effort to erase Black history and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the political figure's early administrative commands targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

Given these circumstances, the month represents how little it can be influential if it is confined to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. A university professor, a professor at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a catalyst for change.”

---

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend actions for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? 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), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and provides room for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the history when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and responsive. Maybe an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.