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We are in Black History Month in the Britain, and it seems it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an observance that was initiated as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to white audiences about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.

The Origins of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in autumn in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Éire and the Holland.

The month has transformed since that time, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the method the month is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a good lesson in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.

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A Troubling Time

Hardly anything shows how important it is to rethink Black History Month better than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the summer we observed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the person of color at the helm of the right-wing political group, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a elected representative gains confidence to say that the absence of Caucasian individuals in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, far-right parties are expanding in the EU as a whole.

In the United States, a massive attack against diversity initiatives and positive discrimination has been carried, often successfully, to the top legal institutions of the state. A effort to erase the history of people of color and experience from the historical documents is in progress. One of the former president's first executive orders targeted the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.

Against this backdrop, the celebration symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is confined to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the situation of the present. It also shows how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, articulated it most accurately when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the celebration. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month becomes a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”

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Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month entirely, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an era that has not worked.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and tradition of racial movements – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an framework that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not merely to decline as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month seem? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and allows opportunity for individuals, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What use is simple recognition of the history when it fails to address the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and awareness of subtle slights, but faced with the threats that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.