🔗 Share this article

This is Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has taken on a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where African descendants are compensated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. But even that moment has passed. The tide has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what increasing understanding is for.

The Origins of Black History Month

Originally observed in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in October in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The month has transformed since those days, focusing less on the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in educational institutions where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it develops is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the objective of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.

---

A Jarring Moment

Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a strong critic of Black Lives Matter, 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, far-right parties are expanding in the EU as a whole.

In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the country. A campaign to erase African American heritage and legacy from the historical documents is ongoing. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.

In this context, the month symbolises how insufficiently it can be influential if it is limited to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered festivities of historical achievements, rather than confronting the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”

---

Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Figuring out 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 eliminate things like Black History Month completely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a vital organism.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not evade governmental matters, and leaves space for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the threats that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not treated with importance. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Contemporary Black History Month.