In the United Kingdom, Black History Month (BHM) occurs in October. This short talk—an example of the author’s work as a public intellectual—was given at the launch of BHM in Wales in 2013. It begins by suggesting that Black history is (a) scholarship, (b) a form of cultural politics and cultural democracy, (c) a mode of vindication and counter-narrative, and (d) celebration. After warning that some practices of Black history have negative consequences, the talk briefly compares the origins and development of BHM in the United States and the United Kingdom. The concluding section discusses the question: “Why does Black history matter?”
CésaireA. (2013). Notebook of a return to my native land (James ArnoldA.EshlemanC., Trans.). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. (Original work published 1939)
2.
DuBoisW. E. B. (1989). The souls of black folk. New York, NY: Penguin. (Original work published 1903)
3.
WilliamsG. W. (1883). History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 (Vol. 2). New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
