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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. As time has passed, an observance that began as a festivity and recollection of heritage, traditions and links between global Black communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about hidden biases and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of displaying cultural sensitivity. Yet, that phase is now over. The wave has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Background of Black History Observance

Initially celebrated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as a week dedicated to Negro history by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The month has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the observance is commemorated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.

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A Jarring Moment

Hardly anything shows how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the current time in which it falls this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the shape of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we witnessed the largest far-right rally in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the African descendant in charge of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a position where a legislator feels emboldened to state that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are surging in the European continent as a entirety.

In the US, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, often successfully, to the highest courts of the country. A effort to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.

Against this backdrop, the month illustrates how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or politically neutered commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”

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Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a temptation to just eliminate events including Black History Month entirely, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an period that has been ineffective.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (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 avoid governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to express their concerns and stories. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to minor insults, but challenged by the dangers that impact society if opposition to discrimination is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is in order – Black History is Now Month.