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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that was initiated as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has adopted a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate events where Black people are remunerated to address predominantly white listeners about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade created a surge in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding 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 an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of celebration and reflection in the middle of February. Black History Month evolved from this initiative and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in the tenth month in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The period has evolved since that time, focusing less on the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and struggles for equality, and more on prominent Black figures in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is celebrated is a indication of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to weakening: the reshaping of Black History Month has hindered the point of it, which is to address embedded and established prejudice.

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A Jarring Moment

Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform organization is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we saw the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the history of Britain. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the right-wing political group, is a strong critic of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, far-right parties are surging in the European continent as a entirety.

In the United States, a significant offensive against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A campaign to remove Black history and legacy from the archives is in progress. One of the former president's early administrative commands aimed at the institution dedicated to Black heritage, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.

Given these circumstances, the observance represents how minimally it can be impactful if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than addressing the realities of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is required. A university professor, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”

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Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Determining how to adapt, revise and extend initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a urge to just do away with things like Black History Month entirely, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and heritage of activism for racial justice – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – constitute an foundation that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is dispersed through the year (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) included in school curriculums. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for people, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Establishments who observe it should not be pacified with the neutral terminology of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the dangers that face all if opposition to discrimination is not treated with importance. To summarize, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and responsive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Black History is Now Month.