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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it seems it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an observance that began as a commemorative event of the past, cultural identity and bonds between Black populations worldwide, has developed a corporate feel, broadening to incorporate gatherings where Black people are compensated to speak with Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The demonstrations for racial justice in the 2020s sparked an increase in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. But even that moment has passed. The surge has crested, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Background of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in autumn in the Britain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The month has evolved since those days, giving reduced attention to the narratives of colonial slavery and struggles for equality, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most commonly celebrated, with talks and cultural events. But the method the celebration is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how co-option leads to weakening: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.

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A Jarring Moment

Few things illustrate how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform political group is top in opinion ratings. In the warmer months we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. a prominent political figure, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a legislator feels emboldened to state that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in Europe as a whole.

In the America, a significant offensive against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the state. A drive to scrub the history of people of color and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the former president's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by depicting the United States “as naturally discriminatory”.

Given these circumstances, the observance represents how little it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or politically neutered celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the situation of the present. It also demonstrates how its limited duration means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she expressed apprehension about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The issue with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a fleeting performance rather than a driver of transformation.”

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Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to alter, change and broaden actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such periods of dismay and anxiety is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are inadequate for current needs, or are relics of an period that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of campaigns for equality – community-based BLM initiatives, DEI programs, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month seem? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for individuals, particularly young people, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who celebrate it should not be pacified with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but faced with the threats that impact society if anti-racism is not treated with importance. In short, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Contemporary Black History Month.