Exploring Black History Month 2024: Celebrating African American Contributions and Connections with the Dalit Movement

In February, a profound commemoration unfolds across the United States and Canada as people unite to celebrate Black History Month, a time dedicated to honouring the resilience and contributions of Black Americans in the face of discrimination and inequality.

This month serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality. Interestingly, in India, a similar spirit of remembrance and empowerment is observed in April with Dalit History Month, a period dedicated to honoring the struggles and sacrifices of Dalit and marginalized communities.

Through these parallel observances, spanning continents and cultures, a shared narrative emerges—one of resilience, solidarity, and the relentless pursuit of justice.

Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is an annual celebration of the achievements of Black Americans and their central role in U.S. history. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada, and in October in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The theme for Black History Month 2024 is "African Americans and the Arts." This theme explores the many ways that Black Americans have contributed to the arts, from visual and performing arts to literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary arts, and other forms of cultural expression.

The Black movement in the United States and the congruencies with the Dalit Movement

Although the Dalit Movement has a long history and predates even the Black movement for equality, nevertheless the two movements share ample congruencies to be highlighted.

In 1915, the second week of February was chosen as Black History Month primarily because it had the birthdays of both historian Carter G. Woodson, who co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1926, and also Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12 and ended slavery in 1865. The group declared the second week of February as “Negro History Week” to recognize the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. People studied Black history, and it wasn't included in textbooks prior to the creation of Negro Few History Week.

The week-long event officially became Black History Month in 1976 when U.S. President Gerald Ford extended the recognition to “honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history.” Extending the event to the whole of February also remembered W.E.B. Du Bois, another American civil rights activist. Black History Month has been celebrated in the United States every February since then.

Black Movement and Dalit Movement - The Congruencies and the Differences

While in the Western world, the Black community has had to suffer massive discrimination and slavery, in South Asia, the Dalit community, or the untouchables, were subjected to the worst kind of discrimination in the world. The circumstances of both the Dalits and the Blacks were a bit different.

While the discrimination against Blacks has received international recognition, the discrimination against marginalized sections of society, particularly the Dalits, is largely unknown to the outside world.

Speaking to The Mooknayak activist Prabodhan Pol, says, “There are many commonalities between the Black and the Dalit community like the stigma they face in their respective societies, but the Blacks have nevertheless managed to make a mark in various fields like in art and culture. But in India, latent Brahminism has prevented that from happening. Both Malcolm X and Dr. Ambedkar rejected their respective religions in favor of alternative religions.

In a letter addressed to W.E. Du Bois, a pan African Civil Rights Activist, Dr. Ambedkar says, “There is so much similarity between the position of the Untouchables in India and the position of the Negroes in America that the study of the latter is not only natural but necessary.”

The popularity of Black History Month has been a source of inspiration for Dalit activists, who sought to create a similar platform to celebrate and promote Dalit history and contributions to Indian society. Dalit History Month celebrated in April has gained traction in recent years, with more people participating in its events and spreading awareness about the rich legacy of Dalit history.

While the Dalit diaspora has played a significant role in popularizing the concept of Dalit History Month, Professor Sumeet Mhaskekar of the Jindal Institute of Government and Public Policy suggests that the framework for this initiative has been adopted from Black History Month. This month-long celebration aims to reach out to the non-Indian audience, particularly oppressed groups such as Black Americans, through icons of social justice such as Ambedkar, Phule, and Periyar.

However, Professor Mhaskar warns against attributing the inspiration of the Dalit Movement to the Black Movement. He says that the Dalit Movement has its own history, but there are several movements like the Dalit Panther which have taken inspiration from the Black Panther movement, but to attribute the Dalit movement to the Black Movement or Black Panther movement is wrong.

Dalit Panther: A Movement Inspired by the Black Panther

As mentioned by co-founder Raja Dhale in one of his interviews, the Dalit Panthers were inspired by the Black Panther Party in the US, specifically the group initially called the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, formed in the city of Oakland, California, in 1966. The outfit believed in a radical approach, much like the Dalit Panther.

Around 1970, the Elaya Perumal report was made public, exposing the state of oppression and atrocities against Dalits.

J.V. Pawar states in his book, "Dalit Panthers: An Authoritative History," that RPI members did not react strongly to the revelations in the Elaya Perumal report. "Veteran Dalit leaders scattered among various factions of RPI were unmoved, but young writers and poets wanted the government to take action," he states. So Namdeo Dhasal, Arjun Dangle, Raja Dhale, JV Pawar, and Baburao Bagul founded the Dalit Panther in Mumbai in 1972.

Over the last few years, the African American community in the US has lent support to the Dalit movement in the US. In recent years, there has been a renewed engagement between the Dalit movement and the Black movement, instantiated by Ava DuVernay, who made a film titled "Origin" in which the problems of the Dalit community have been highlighted, and the character of Dr. Ambedkar is also featured.

Black and Brown: A Study in Contrast

However, if we compare the progress of both communities, we will find that the US has a more enabling atmosphere for the upper mobility of individuals of any race, caste, or class, whereas in India, the stigma of caste restrains the progress of Dalit folk in the absence of affirmative action.

In contrast, the Black community has made its mark in several fields such as arts, films, music, dance, and even politics, as Barack Obama became the first Black President of the US in 2009. But the Dalit community is yet to make itself perceptible in fields where there is no affirmative action policy of reservations. The wide acceptability that Black politicians have managed to secure in the US is in stark contrast to India, where the leaders of the Dalit community.

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