🔗 Share this article

It's Black History Month in the United Kingdom, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an celebration that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to talk to white audiences about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has crested, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Background of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of celebration and reflection in the February's second week. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Holland.

The observance has transformed since those days, placing less emphasis on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.

---

A Disconcerting Period

Few things illustrate how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month better than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform political group is ahead in surveys. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. At the same time, far-right parties are growing in Europe as a entirety.

In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the nation. A drive to remove Black history and legacy from the archives is under way. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to change the national past” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.

In this context, the celebration illustrates how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a educator at a learning establishment, articulated it most accurately when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”

---

Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Determining how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a urge to just discontinue things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has been ineffective.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an framework that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a vital organism.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? To begin with, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed across all seasons (as some institutions are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not shy away from political issues, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the past when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the urban areas? Organizations who mark it should not be comforted with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.