🔗 Share this article

This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has developed a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s created a surge in the business of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.

The Background of Black History Month

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 multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.

The month has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is celebrated is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a instructive case in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.

---

A Jarring Moment

Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a source of worry. At the same time, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.

In the America, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to remove Black history and legacy from the archives is ongoing. One of the political figure's first executive orders aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

In this context, the celebration illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized festivities of historical achievements, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at a learning establishment, expressed it perfectly when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the celebration. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”

---

Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such moments of dejection and worry is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.

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, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.

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 commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and provides room for citizens, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to subtle slights, but faced with the threats that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.