🔗 Share this article

We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an observance that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate events where Black people are compensated to speak with predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The wave has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.

The History of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The period has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is observed is a indication of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.

---

A Jarring Moment

Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a reemerging right-wing in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a source of worry. Meanwhile, extreme conservative groups are surging in the EU as a entirety.

In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to erase Black history and legacy from the records is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's early administrative commands aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.

Given these circumstances, the observance represents how little it can be influential if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or depoliticized commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the conditions of the contemporary world. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. A university professor, a prof at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”

---

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just discontinue events including Black History Month entirely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has failed to deliver.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an infrastructure that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed through the year (as various establishments are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the history when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the passive language of hidden discrimination and awareness of minor insults, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is necessary – Black History is Now Month.