Local MP Eleanor Smith raised concerns over the emblem – and caused outrage. But the region’s connection to slavery cannot be ignored
[br]• Matthew Stallard is a historian of class and race at the University of ManchesterThe recently designed flag of the Black Country achieved its most prominent national coverage yet on Wednesday at prime minister’s questions when Theresa May came to its defence following the newly elected MP for Wolverhampton South West’s expression of “serious concerns” approximately its “racist connotations”. That a row ostensibly approximately local heritage had reached the attention of the highest office in the land says a considerable deal approximately the way in which our collective memory is coloured by the social impacts of deindustrialisation and our amnesia over the legacies of slavery and imperialism.Created by a local 12-year-outmoded schoolgirl to represent the area’s industrial heritage,with the shape of a white glassmaking chimney and three linked chains, it was chosen by public vote in 2012 as the “official” flag of the region. The chimney is flanked by black and red panels inspired by Elihu Burritt’s famous description of the area as “black by day and red by night”.
What gives the Black Country its strong and unique identity is, or always has been,its people Related: Britain has a selective memory of its slavery past. Our project will help us to remember | Nick Draper Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com