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We are in Black History Month in the UK, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an observance that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between international African diaspora communities, has adopted a business-like atmosphere, broadening to incorporate functions where individuals of African heritage are paid to speak with white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade generated a rise in the industry of showcasing anti-racist commitment. Yet, that phase is now over. The tide has peaked, resulting in a somewhat empty inheritance of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Origins of Black History Month

First commemorated in the US and Canada, Black History Month was established in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by historian of African descent Carter G. Woodson with a week of commemoration and observance in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the US and Canada in the second month, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Éire and the Holland.

The month has transformed since that time, placing less emphasis on the narratives of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and greater focus on prominent Black figures in government, the arts, and social movements, and extensively acknowledging the contribution Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most frequently marked, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the celebration is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it develops is a valuable example in how co-option leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to confront structural and organizational discrimination.

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A Disconcerting Period

Few things illustrate how critical it is to rethink Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the Britain, a reemerging right-wing in the form of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the recent season we witnessed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in the UK's past. Kemi Badenoch, the person of color at the helm of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of the racial justice movement, and we are in a situation where a legislator gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in parts of a city is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a complete entity.

In the US, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, frequently with success, to the highest courts of the state. A campaign to remove Black history and narrative from the archives is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a organized and extensive campaign to rewrite our Nation’s history” by depicting the United States “as inherently racist”.

Against this backdrop, the celebration represents how little it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or stripped of political content commemorations of former accomplishments, rather than challenging the conditions of the current era. It also shows how its short period means that it is disconnected from the broader ongoing work that is needed. An academic expert, a educator at a learning establishment, put it best when she raised concerns about the short-term symbolic gestures of the month. “The difficulty with adopting a symbolic stance”, she stated, “is that it often means that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a driver of transformation.”

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Rethinking, But Not Jettisoning

Figuring out how to alter, change and broaden initiatives for equal rights and acknowledgment in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just eliminate observances such as Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are relics of an time that has been ineffective.

But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of campaigns for equality – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, DEI programs, and yes, even those talks to businesses – represent an foundation that a lot of work has been dedicated to. It is there not merely to decline as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already starting to implement), parts of its content (particularly around notable African descendants) incorporated into academic syllabi. It would also be a period that does not evade political issues, and leaves space for citizens, particularly youth, to express their concerns and stories. What value has simple recognition of the history when it fails to address the current situation of ultra-nationalist gatherings in the street? Institutions who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not approached earnestly. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, pressing, and reactive. Perhaps an complete renaming is in order – Black History is Now Month.