Black History Month: Counter-Narrative Psychology
The year is now 2021, and Black History Month has been celebrated for nearly 50 years. However, with the advent of social networking sites, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, what does Black History Month look like in a post-Trump, digital era? What opportunities are there for both Black and non-Black media consumers? The answer: plenty.
But first, let’s discuss the origins of Black History Month.
In 1916, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, son to former slaves, founded the Journal of Negro History. In 1926, a decade later, Dr. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” which was celebrated in February.
February 14, 1817, American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, was born. February 12, 1809, former U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, was born. In his three narratives, and his numerous articles, speeches, and letters, Douglass tirelessly argued against slavery, and in 1865, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated African American slaves from legal bondage. Hence, February became widely recognized as a month to celebrate the intersectionality of Black history and the struggle for justice. For decades, Black History week was celebrated mid-February. However, in the 1970’s, increasingly across the U.S., the week became a month-long celebration.
The Psychology of Black History Month
Salter & Adams (2016) explain that “People experience motivations to reconstruct the past in an identity-favorable light to avoid negative feelings and emotions associated with threats to collective identity (e.g.Branscombe and Miron, 2004; Wohl et al., 2006; Morton and Sonnenberg, 2011). In other words, Black History Month, for many Black people, serves as a counter-narrative to the ongoing racial discrimination and racial trauma experienced for generations, and is an act of resilience — a recovery from a story of pain that instead reminds us of our collective strength and survival.
Seeing images and narratives of Black history makers across social media can provide Black media consumers with positive Black identity messages and help protect their racial self-esteem (e.g. Gordon, 2008). For non-Black media consumers, Black History Month serves to disrupt and counter stereotypical images and narratives that continue to promote the notion that Black people are less than, inferior, unlovable, and lacking beauty or intellect.
The Misconception of Black History Month
Black History Month isn’t just for “important people” or “Black heroes.” We must reject the elitist ideology that it was only the prestigious Black leaders or insurrectionists that helped to abolish slavery and help end oppression. We must also remember the millions of ancestors who worked in the fields, protested, voted, and were lynched and murdered without tomb markers. They, too, are worthy of being honored and celebrated for their lives and sacrifices. “We speak your names.”
Black History Month for All
Black History Month does not negate nor does it dismiss America’s dark past or present unfair treatment of Black people. The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 are evidence that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a world “where people are no longer judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” has yet to be realized. Black History Month represents an opportunity for all. For Black people, it is a time to reflect on what we’ve overcome and highlight struggles we have still yet to conquer. For non-Black people, it is a time to ask yourself, “How can I better support the plight of Black people’s lived experience?” Black History Month affirms that Black people can do anything, and for non-Black people, there is an opportunity, still, to be anti-racist as well as an ally. Love is a decision.
References
Branscombe, N. R., and Miron, A. M. (2004). “Interpreting the ingroup’s negative actions toward another group: emotional reactions to appraised harm,” in The Social Life of Emotions, eds L. Z. Tiedens and C. W. Leach (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press), 314–335.
Gordon, M. K. (2008). Media contributions to African American girls’ focus on beauty and appearance: Exploring the consequences of sexual objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00433.x
Morton, T. A., and Sonnenberg, S. J. (2011). When history constrains identity: expressing the self to others against the backdrop of a problematic past. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 41, 232. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.770
Salter, P. S., & Adams, G. (2016). On the Intentionality of Cultural Products: Representations of Black History As Psychological Affordances. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1166. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01166
Wohl, M. J. A., Branscombe, N. R., and Klar, Y. (2006). Collective guilt: justice-based emotional reactions when one’s group has done wrong or been wronged. Eur. Rev. Soc. Psychol. 17, 1–37. doi: 10.1080/10463280600574815
