It's Black History Month in the Britain, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an celebration that started out as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate gatherings where Black people are remunerated to talk to predominantly white listeners about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.
Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the Britain, Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The period has evolved since its inception, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and more on influential individuals of color in government, the arts, and social movements, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it evolves is a instructive case in how co-option leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.
Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the Britain, a resurgent right in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the largest far-right rally in British history. a prominent political figure, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a legislator gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a complete entity.
In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, often successfully, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A drive to erase the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the renowned cultural organization, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.
In this context, the observance illustrates how insufficiently it can be influential if it is restricted to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of historical achievements, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a professor at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the celebration. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”
Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has not worked.
Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.
So what would a contemporary active Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to express their concerns and stories. What use is simple recognition of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but challenged by the threats that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Maybe an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.
Elena Hartwell is a multidisciplinary artist and educator passionate about fostering creative communities in London.