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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 celebration that began as a commemorative event of heritage, traditions and links between Black populations worldwide, has taken on a business-like atmosphere, growing to encompass gatherings where Black people are compensated to address white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has reached its height, producing a diluted aftermath of what promoting consciousness is for.

The Origins of Black History Observance

First commemorated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was conceived 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 developed from this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Currently it is marked not only in the United States and Canada in winter, but also in the tenth month in the Britain, Germany, Éire and the Holland.

The month has transformed since that time, giving reduced attention to the accounts of the slave trade across the Atlantic and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the impact Black people have made to influence the nation. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with discussions and heritage festivities. But the manner the celebration is celebrated is a manifestation of the contemporary political context. How it progresses is a good lesson in how assimilation leads to erosion: the restructuring of Black History Month has impeded the objective of it, which is to address structural and organizational discrimination.

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A Jarring Moment

Few things illustrate how crucial it is to reevaluate Black History Month more than the specific period in which it occurs this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform organization is ahead in surveys. In the summer we witnessed the biggest extreme right demonstration in British history. the Conservative leader, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of the racial justice movement, and we are in a position where a member of parliament gains confidence to say that a lack of white people in certain urban areas is a cause for alarm. Simultaneously, ultra-nationalist movements are expanding in the European continent as a whole.

In the United States, a massive attack against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been taken, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the nation. A effort to remove the history of people of color and narrative from the historical documents is ongoing. One of Donald Trump's first executive orders aimed at the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, claiming they of a “concerted and widespread effort to change the national past” by depicting the United States “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

Given these circumstances, the month illustrates how insufficiently it can be effective if it is limited to either obligatory business commemorations, or depoliticized commemorations of contributions in the past, rather than addressing the realities of the current era. It also demonstrates how its short period means that it is separated from the wider consistent effort that is needed. An academic expert, a prof at an educational institution, articulated it most accurately when she expressed apprehension about the fleeting superficial actions of the month. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a transient display rather than a catalyst for change.”

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Reconsidering, Not Discarding

Establishing how to adapt, revise and extend efforts for racial equality and recognition in such times of discouragement and concern is a difficult task. There is a inclination to just eliminate events including Black History Month altogether, believing they are no longer suitable, or are vestiges of an time that has been ineffective.

Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and legacy of activism for racial justice – local anti-racism groups, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an framework that a significant effort has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, deteriorates), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a contemporary active Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out across all seasons (as certain organizations are already starting to implement), elements of its material (particularly around notable African descendants) integrated into educational programs. It would also be a era that does not shy away from politics, and allows opportunity for people, particularly youth, to share their anxieties and narratives. What value has mere awareness of the past when it ignores the contemporary truth of extreme conservative demonstrations in the street? Organizations who observe it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that affect everyone if fight against prejudice is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made contemporary, critical, and adaptive. It could be that an total re-identification is required – Present-Day African Heritage Celebration.