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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an event that began as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass functions where individuals of African heritage are remunerated to address Caucasian groups about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests sparked an increase in the enterprise of demonstrating racial awareness. Yet, that phase is now over. The surge has reached its height, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what raising awareness is for.

The Background of Black History Month

First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was established in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with multiple days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month evolved from this movement and was publicly established in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the North America in the second month, but also in autumn in the United Kingdom, Deutschland, Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The period has transformed since its inception, focusing less on the narratives of transatlantic enslavement and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on notable African descendants in politics, culture, and activism, and widely honoring the impact Black people have made to mold society. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the way the observance is commemorated is a reflection of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how appropriation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the purpose of it, which is to tackle systemic and institutional racism.

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A Jarring Moment

Few things illustrate how important it is to reconsider Black History Month better than the current time in which it takes place this year. In the United Kingdom, a revitalized conservative movement in the form of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the summer we saw the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the African descendant in charge of the Tory party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to say that “not seeing any white faces” in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. At the same time, extreme conservative groups are surging in the European continent as a entirety.

In the America, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been carried, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the supreme judicial bodies of the state. A effort to remove African American heritage and narrative from the archives is under way. One of the former president's initial presidential directives targeted the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to change the national past” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

In this context, the celebration symbolises how little it can be effective if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, 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 separated from the wider consistent effort that is necessary. A university professor, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she voiced worries about the short-term symbolic gestures of the observance. “The issue with embracing a superficial method”, she commented, “is that it frequently results in that Black History Month turns into a fleeting performance rather than a agent of progress.”

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Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Establishing how to adjust, modify and expand actions for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just eliminate things like Black History Month completely, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an time that has not worked.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of racial movements – community-based BLM initiatives, inclusion and equity efforts, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a considerable labor has been invested in. It is there not only to deteriorate as the political landscape shifts (and in fact, declines), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Well, first, it would be extended beyond a brief observance: something that is spread out across all seasons (as various establishments are already commencing), sections of its curriculum (particularly around prominent figures of color) included in academic syllabi. It would also be a time that does not evade political issues, and provides room for people, particularly the younger generation, to share their anxieties and narratives. What purpose serves mere awareness of the bygone era when it fails to address the contemporary truth of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the public spaces? Establishments who celebrate it should not be reassured with the neutral terminology of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but faced with the risks that impact society if fight against prejudice is not approached earnestly. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Contemporary Black History Month.