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This is Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an event that began as a commemorative event of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has developed a commercial tone, growing to encompass events where African descendants are compensated to address white audiences about implicit prejudice and supportive partnership. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the enterprise of showcasing anti-racist commitment. However, that period has concluded. The wave has reached its height, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.

The Background of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as an observance of African American heritage by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with seven days of remembrance and recognition in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this initiative and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The month has developed since those days, giving reduced attention to the histories of the slave trade across the Atlantic and civil rights battles, and increasingly on notable African descendants in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the manner the observance is observed is a indication of the current political situation. How it evolves is a instructive case in how appropriation leads to erosion: the transformation of Black History Month has hindered the purpose of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.

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A Troubling Time

Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it falls this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the shape of the Reform party is leading the polls. In the recent season we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in the history of Britain. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the right-wing political group, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels empowered to state that the absence of Caucasian individuals in specific city neighborhoods is a reason for concern. Simultaneously, extreme conservative groups are growing in the European continent as a whole.

In the United States, a massive attack against DEI and affirmative action has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the highest courts of the country. A effort to erase African American heritage and experience from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's initial presidential directives aimed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by representing the nation “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

Against this backdrop, the observance represents how little it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than confronting the realities of the current era. It also shows how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the more extensive continuous action that is required. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The problem with embracing a superficial method”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month turns into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”

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Reevaluating, Not Abandoning

Figuring out how to adjust, modify and expand initiatives for fair treatment and appreciation in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with observances such as Black History Month entirely, assuming they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an era that has failed to deliver.

However, regardless of the situation, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and certainly, even commercial engagements – form an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline 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 look like? To begin with, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is dispersed throughout the annual calendar (as certain organizations are already beginning to do), elements of its material (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a era that does not avoid governmental matters, and leaves space for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the bygone era when it ignores the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the urban areas? Establishments who celebrate it should not be comforted with the non-confrontational words of “unconscious bias” and sensitivity to subtle slights, but confronted with the dangers that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. Briefly stated, Black History Month should be made current, pressing, and adaptive. Maybe an entire name rebrand is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.