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We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Throughout its history, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, growing to encompass events where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Background of Black History Month

Originally observed 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 seven days of celebration and reflection in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in winter, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The month has evolved since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it develops is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has stymied the objective of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.

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A Jarring Moment

Little demonstrates how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the current time in which it occurs this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a legislator gains confidence to declare that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a source of worry. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.

In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the state. A effort to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as inherently racist”.

Given these circumstances, the month represents how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is restricted to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered festivities of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the current era. It also reveals how its limited duration means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is required. A university professor, a prof at an educational institution, expressed it perfectly when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”

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Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Establishing how to alter, change and broaden efforts for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – represent an infrastructure that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the politics moves on (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.

So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a period that does not evade politics, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to air their fears and experiences. What use is basic knowledge of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the contemporary truth of far-right rallies in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be pacified with the passive language of hidden discrimination and alertness to minor insults, but confronted with the dangers that affect everyone if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an complete renaming is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.