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This is Black History Month in the Britain, and it appears it’s time for a rethink. As time has passed, an celebration that started out as a festivity and recollection of the past, cultural identity and bonds between global Black communities, has developed a corporate feel, expanding to include gatherings where individuals of African heritage are paid to talk to Caucasian groups about “unconscious bias” and active solidarity. The anti-racism rallies of the last decade sparked an increase in the industry of demonstrating racial awareness. However, that period has concluded. The surge has peaked, producing a diluted aftermath of what raising awareness is for.

The History of Black History Observance

Initially celebrated in the America and its northern neighbor, Black History Month was created in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by Black scholar Carter G. Woodson with a week of remembrance and recognition in the February's second week. Black History Month grew out of this campaign and was publicly established in 1970. Now it is celebrated not only in the United States and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.

The period has developed since that time, placing less emphasis on the accounts of colonial slavery and fights for racial justice, and increasingly on influential individuals of color in public life, creative fields, and advocacy, and broadly celebrating the input Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with lectures and artistic activities. But the way the celebration is observed is a manifestation of the current political situation. How it evolves is a valuable example in how assimilation leads to erosion: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the purpose of it, which is to tackle embedded and established prejudice.

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A Disconcerting Period

Hardly anything shows how important it is to reevaluate Black History Month as much as the specific period in which it takes place this year. In the UK, a resurgent right in the guise of the Reform organization is leading the polls. In the warmer months we observed the most significant ultra-conservative gathering in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a staunch adversary of anti-racism activism, and we are in a place where a legislator feels empowered to say that “not seeing any white faces” in certain urban areas is a reason for concern. Meanwhile, far-right parties are growing in the European continent as a entirety.

In the United States, a colossal assault against inclusion programs and preferential policies has been brought, repeatedly with positive outcomes, to the top legal institutions of the country. A drive to scrub African American heritage and narrative from the historical documents is under way. One of the political figure's first executive orders focused on the museum of African American legacy, and the Smithsonian Institution, alleging that they of a organized and extensive campaign to alter the country's historical narrative” by portraying America “as fundamentally prejudiced”.

In this context, the month represents how little it can be influential if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the realities of the contemporary world. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is separated from the broader ongoing work that is needed. Denise Miller, a educator at an educational institution, put it best when she voiced worries about the temporary “tokenism” of the observance. “The issue with taking a tokenistic approach”, she commented, “is that it typically leads to that Black History Month evolves into a brief show rather than a agent of progress.”

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Reconsidering, Not Discarding

Determining how to adjust, modify and expand actions for fair treatment and appreciation in such times of discouragement and concern is a challenging endeavor. There is a inclination to just discontinue observances such as Black History Month altogether, assuming they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an period that has not worked.

Yet, in spite of all this, Black History Month, and in fact the whole broad system and heritage of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and indeed, including corporate presentations – constitute an framework that a considerable labor has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the situation evolves (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.

So what would a new dynamic Black History Month appear as? Firstly, it would be more than a single focused period: something that is spread out throughout the annual calendar (as some institutions are already commencing), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) included in educational programs. It would also be a era that does not evade governmental matters, and provides room for citizens, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What value has mere awareness of the history when it ignores the current situation of extreme conservative demonstrations in the public spaces? Organizations who mark it should not be reassured with the non-confrontational words of hidden discrimination and sensitivity to “microaggressions”, but challenged by the risks that impact society if anti-racism is not taken seriously. To summarize, Black History Month should be made up-to-date, urgent, and reactive. Maybe an total re-identification is necessary – Black History is Now Month.