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

We are in Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a corporate feel, expanding to include events where Black people are paid to speak with white audiences about implicit prejudice and active solidarity. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.

The Origins 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 African American historian Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The period has developed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the method the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle structural and organizational discrimination.

A Jarring Moment

Little demonstrates how crucial it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform party is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a complete entity.

In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the records is in progress. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

In this context, the celebration represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is necessary. An academic expert, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for racial equality and recognition in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month altogether, believing 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 complete comprehensive structure and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as various establishments are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for people, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to 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 up-to-date, critical, and responsive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Black History is Now Month.