Black History Month

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    Black History Month is a reflection of the political moment, so how do we revamp it?

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    It’s Black History Month in the UK, and it feels like it’s time for a rethink. Over the years, an event that started out as a celebration and reminder of history, culture and the connections between global Black communities, has taken on a corporate feel, expanding to include events where Black people are paid to talk to white audiences about “unconscious bias” and “allyship”. The 2020s Black Lives Matter protests created a surge in the business of demonstrating racial awareness. But even that moment has passed. The wave has crested, leaving a sort of hollowed out legacy of what raising awareness is for.The history of Black HistoryView image in fullscreenOriginally observed in the US and Canada, Black History Month was conceived in 1962 as “Negro History Week” by African American historian Carter G. Woodson with seven days of commemoration and observance in the second week of February. Black History Month grew out of this movement and was officially launched in 1970. Today it is observed not only in the US and Canada in February, but also in October in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.The month has evolved since those days, focusing less on the histories of transatlantic enslavement and civil rights battles, and more on prominent Black figures in politics, culture, and activism, and broadly celebrating the contribution Black people have made to shape the country. It is in schools where Black History Month is most regularly observed, with talks and cultural events. But the way the month is celebrated is a reflection of the political moment. How it evolves is a good lesson in how co-option leads to dismantling: the reshaping of Black History Month has stymied the point of it, which is to address systemic and institutional racism.A jarring momentView image in fullscreenLittle demonstrates how important it is to rethink Black History Month more than the particular moment 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 summer we witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history. Kemi Badenoch, the Black leader of the Conservative party, is a firm opponent of Black Lives Matter, and we are in a place where a member of parliament feels emboldened to say that “not seeing any white faces” in parts of a city is a cause for alarm. Meanwhile, far-right parties are surging in Europe as a whole.In the US, a colossal assault against DEI and affirmative action has been taken, often successfully, to the highest courts of the country. A campaign to scrub Black history and experience from the archives is under way. One of Donald Trump’s first executive orders targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution, accusing them of a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history” by portraying America “as inherently racist”.Against this backdrop, the month symbolises how little it can be impactful if it is limited to either dutiful corporate observances, or politically neutered celebrations of contributions in the past, rather than challenging the conditions of the present. It also demonstrates how its restricted time span means that it is detached from the wider consistent effort that is needed. Denise Miller, a prof at University of Greenwich, put it best when she raised concerns about the temporary “tokenism” of the month. “The problem with taking a tokenistic approach”, she wrote, “is that it often means that Black History Month becomes a fleeting performance rather than a catalyst for change.”Rethinking, but not jettisoningskip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionView image in fullscreenFiguring out how to adjust, modify and expand efforts for racial equality and recognition in such moments of dejection and worry is a treacherous thing. There is a temptation to just do away with things like Black History Month altogether, thinking they are simply not fit for purpose, or are relics of an era that has not worked.But despite everything, Black History Month, and in fact the entire extended network and legacy of racial movements – grassroots Black Lives Matter organisations, diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and yes, even those talks to businesses – constitute an infrastructure that a lot of work has gone into. It is there not just to decay as the politics moves on (and in fact, regresses), but to be a living breathing thing.So what would a new dynamic Black History Month look like? Well, first, it would be not just one concentrated month: something that is spread out through the year (as some institutions are already beginning to do), parts of its content (particularly around historic Black characters) incorporated into school curriculums. It would also be a period that does not shy away from politics, and leaves space for people, particularly young people, to air their fears and experiences. What use is mere awareness of the past when it doesn’t reckon with the present reality of far-right rallies in the street? Institutions who observe it should not be comforted with the passive language of “unconscious bias” and alertness to “microaggressions”, but confronted with the risks that face all if anti-racism is not taken seriously. In short, Black History Month should be made current, urgent, and reactive. Perhaps an entire name rebrand is in order – Black History is Now Month. More

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      We get 28 days for Black History in the US – but every month is White History Month | Steve Phillips

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      We get 28 days for Black history in the US – but every month is White History MonthSteve PhillipsConservatives are blocking a more inclusive version of history – even as our Capitol contains statues of white supremacistsWelcome to White History Month! While February – the shortest of months – is typically associated with a 28-day acknowledgement of the historical contributions of African Americans, the truth of the matter is that this month, and every month, is actually a celebration of white history.This particular February is noteworthy because of the controversy surrounding revisions to the first-ever advanced placement (AP) course in African American history. (It is worth noting that the College Board, which administers AP courses, has been in existence since 1900 and is only now getting around to offering a class on African Americans.) The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has seized on the occasion to fan the flames of white racial fear and resentment by having the Florida department of education very publicly reject the course because they claimed it “significantly lacks educational value”.DeSantis’s corporate donors under fire for ‘hypocrisy’ over Black History MonthRead moreIn a profound profile in cowardice, the College Board removed references to topics such as Black Lives Matter and reparations from the curriculum after Florida raised its complaints. (The New York Times documented the process of capitulation in an article this month.)DeSantis’ antics are nothing new. He is merely following the well-worn path of prior champions of white racial grievance, such as the 1960s segregationist and Alabama governor George Wallace, the 1948 Dixiecrat presidential candidate Strom Thurmond, the Confederate president Jefferson Davis, and many, many others. Wallace most clearly discovered and articulated the political power of white racial resentment when he told a journalist: “I started off talking about schools and highways and prisons and taxes – and I couldn’t make them listen. Then I began talking about [N-word] – and they stomped the floor.”What DeSantis has discovered is that in Florida, attacks on so-called “critical race theory” get many white people to stomp the floor. Last year, he pushed through legislation that seeks to shield white children from facing the facts of white supremacy – mandating that a “person should not be instructed that he or she must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress for actions, in which he or she played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race.”Although the modern-day Confederate outrage machine would have you believe that America’s children are being bombarded with Philip Kan Gotanda plays, Dolores Huerta speeches and James Baldwin books, the truth is actually the opposite. California is the only state in the country to mandate ethnic studies as a graduation requirement and that law doesn’t take effect for two more years. Arizona just elected as its state superintendent of instruction a man who in 2010 championed a law banning ethnic studies instruction in Tucson, Arizona. (A federal judge later threw out the law, saying that it was “motivated by racial animus”.)The round-the-clock white nationalist propaganda machine is not restricted to the country’s classrooms. The 1939 film Gone With the Wind glorifies the Confederates and depicts white nationalist mass murderers as dashing leading men and charming leading ladies. The movie is still the highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation), and a 2018 PBS poll found that the novel is the sixth-most popular book of fiction in the country, ahead of Charlotte’s Web and The Chronicles of Narnia.The year-round white history celebrations operate in our nation’s capital as well. Dispersed throughout the Rotunda of the US Capitol – the citadel of the nation’s democracy – are 100 statues which, according to the original 1864 legislation, are intended to showcase leaders “illustrious for their historic renown” and “worthy of this national commemoration”, allowing each state two statues.Among the statues that greet the children, families and visitors to the Capitol are “19 statues, busts and paintings of Confederates.” Every day of every month of the year, these white marble monuments to white supremacists stand proudly and defiantly, mocking the notion that America is anything other than a nation for white people. (The law authorizing the placement of statues was actually passed during the civil war, when there were no Confederates in the Congress, but after the war the Southern states rushed tributes to white supremacy into the Capitol building.)Cognizant that Germany has no monuments to Nazis for a reason, Senator Cory Booker, representative Steny Hoyer and other members of Congress have tried in recent years to pass bills cleansing the Capitol of the visible stain of racism, but, tellingly, these bills have never become laws.I recently did a reconnaissance mission to the Capitol to assess the situation. While the building does try to restrict access to the most famous racists, such as Jefferson Davis, his lower-profile yet equally white-supremacist comrades are still there, front and center, greeting visitors from across the country every day, every month – teaching, celebrating and honoring white history. Trying to do my small part to highlight the fact that many of these statues actually pay homage to white supremacists, I put together a short video on my recent trip to DC.DeSantis ramps up ‘war on woke’ with new attacks on Florida higher educationRead moreWhile enraging, none of this is surprising. The marginalization of the history, cultures and contributions of people of color has been going on for centuries. The dichotomy between Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project and the one lonely month devoted annually to Black history highlights the country’s contradiction.Hannah-Jones and the editors at the New York Times set out to “reframe American history by considering what it would mean to regard 1619 as our nation’s birth year. Doing so requires us to place the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are as a country”. (The 1619 Project is now also a documentary series on Hulu.)The revolutionary power of that proposition is that all of US history has to be rethought, but, instead, we settle for one month a year paying lip service to Americans with more melanin.So, with the days ticking down on Black History Month, if we really want to teach the truth, we should confront the fact that every month is White History Month and we should have a national debate about how we feel about that. And then, perhaps we can make real progress on creating a multiracial curriculum that tells the truth about US history to the American people and our children, so that they can make it better in the future.
      Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color and a Guardian US columnist. He is the author of How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good
      TopicsBlack History MonthOpinionUS politicsRon DeSantisFloridaRaceAmerican civil warcommentReuse this content More

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      Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, evacuated from school after bomb threat

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      Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, evacuated from school after bomb threatSecond gentleman was at Dunbar high school in DC for Black History Month event when he was escorted out Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, was whisked out of an event Tuesday at a Washington high school by Secret Service agents following an apparent bomb threat.Emhoff was at Dunbar high school for an event in commemoration of Black History Month. He was in the school’s museum for about five minutes before a member of his security detail approached him saying, “We have to go.” Emhoff was removed from the building into his waiting motorcade.Students and educators at the school were instructed to leave the school, with an announcement saying, “Evacuate the building.”District of Columbia public schools spokesman Enrique Gutierrez said there was a bomb threat. It was not known if it was related to Emhoff’s visit or the Black History Month event.Emhoff spokesperson Katie Peters said the school alerted the Secret Service about what she termed a “security incident or a report of a potential security incident”.“US Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman was meeting with students and faculty,” Peters added in a later tweet. “Mr Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to Secret Service and DC Police for their work.”The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Students at the school were dismissed for the day, since it was expected to take several hours for security officials to sweep the building, principal Nadine Smith said.TopicsWashington DCBlack History MonthKamala HarrisUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Fight to vote: the woman who was key in 'getting us the Voting Rights Act'

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      [embedded content]
      Happy Thursday,
      During the final week of Black History Month, I wanted to continue to look at the people who helped shape the Voting Rights Act, the powerful 1965 law that offered unprecedented protection for voting rights in America. As the country faces another surge of efforts to make it harder to vote, it’s a reminder of how hard Black Americans had to fight to gain and protect the rights to vote that are in place now.
      Last week, I wrote about Bloody Sunday, the March 1965 protest that led directly to the Voting Rights Act. The heroes of that march – people like John Lewis, Hosea Williams and Martin Luther King Jr – have become lions of American history. But until recently, one of the most overlooked people in the march was Amelia Boynton (later Amelia Boynton Robinson), who had been organizing in Selma for years before Bloody Sunday and was the one who called in King to bring national attention to the voter suppression in the now historic city.
      “She got us the Voting Rights Act,” said Carol Anderson, a historian at Emory University.
      “It’s one of the ‘failings’, and I’ll put that in quotes, of the writings of the civil rights movement, is that women who are key in organizing are written out,” she added. “The grassroots work of Mrs Boynton just didn’t get the kind of respect and honor that it deserved.”
      By the time Lewis, King and others arrived in Selma, Boynton was already one of the most well-known and respected people in its Black community. She came to the city in 1929 when she got a job with the US Department of Agriculture, traveling around the state to show African Americans how to improve their farming, but also talking to them about voting. She and her then husband, Samuel Boynton, held meetings in homes and churches, showing people how to register to vote as they faced literacy tests and poll taxes, Jim Crow era obstacles that prevented Black people from registering to vote. More