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It's Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a re-evaluation. Over the years, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of the past, cultural identity and bonds between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are paid to speak with white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the enterprise of displaying cultural sensitivity. However, that period has concluded. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what increasing understanding is for.

The History of Black History Month

First commemorated in the United States and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month developed from this movement and was formally inaugurated in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in autumn in the Britain, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The month has evolved since those days, placing less emphasis on the accounts of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and extensively acknowledging the input Black people have made to mold society. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the month is celebrated is a indication of the contemporary political context. How it develops is a good lesson in how co-option leads to dismantling: the transformation of Black History Month has impeded the point of it, which is to confront embedded and established prejudice.

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A Jarring Moment

Little demonstrates how important it is to reconsider Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a revitalized conservative movement in the guise of the Reform political group is leading the polls. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Tory party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. At the same time, far-right parties are expanding in Europe as a complete entity.

In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, frequently with success, to the supreme judicial bodies of the country. A effort to scrub Black history and experience from the historical documents is in progress. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the renowned cultural organization, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as naturally discriminatory”.

In this context, the observance illustrates how minimally it can be effective if it is restricted to either routine organizational acknowledgments, or stripped of political content festivities of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also reveals how its short period means that it is disconnected from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. Denise Miller, a professor at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The difficulty with taking a tokenistic approach”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month becomes a transient display rather than a agent of progress.”

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Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, believing they are simply not fit for purpose, or are remnants of an time that has failed to deliver.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, inclusion and equity efforts, and yes, even those talks to businesses – form an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a dynamic entity.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is distributed throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already beginning to do), sections of its curriculum (particularly around notable African descendants) included in educational programs. It would also be a time that does not avoid political issues, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What purpose serves basic knowledge of the history when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who celebrate it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of implicit prejudice and awareness of minor insults, but confronted with the threats that face all if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, critical, and reactive. It could be that an entire name rebrand is in order – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.