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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a reassessment. As time has passed, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, expanding to include functions where individuals of African heritage are compensated to speak with white audiences about hidden biases and active solidarity. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.

The History of Black History Celebration

First commemorated in the United States 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 middle of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was publicly established in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in winter, but also in October in the Britain, Deutschland, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The month has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in learning environments where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the manner the month is celebrated is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to confront systemic and institutional racism.

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A Troubling Time

Little demonstrates how critical it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a reemerging right-wing in the guise of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. a prominent political figure, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator feels empowered to declare that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are expanding in the European continent as a complete entity.

In the America, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the nation. A effort to erase African American heritage and narrative from the records is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the prestigious establishment, accusing them of a coordinated and broad attempt to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as naturally discriminatory”.

In this context, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be impactful if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or stripped of political content celebrations of former accomplishments, rather than confronting the conditions of the contemporary world. It also reveals how its short period means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a educator at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the fleeting superficial actions of the observance. “The difficulty with embracing a superficial method”, she stated, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a driver of transformation.”

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Reconsidering, Not Discarding

Determining how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month altogether, thinking they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an period that has failed to deliver.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a significant effort has been invested in. It is there not just to decay as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a vital organism.

So what would a fresh vibrant Black History Month look like? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as various establishments are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around prominent figures of color) integrated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from governmental matters, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to air their fears and experiences. What value has simple recognition of the history when it ignores the present reality of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and responsive. Perhaps an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.