There’s nothing ‘racist’ about the Black Country flag – the reality is far more interesting – Telegraph.co.uk

Last week,fire stations in the Black Country were forbidden from flying the region'sflag at an annual festival devoted to the region.Senior fire-fighters were reportedly concerned that the flag, which features chain in its design, might be seen to glorify slavery and trigger accusations of racism.

So is the flag, or the region, racist?The Black Country name is nothing to do with race or ethnicity. And the imagery or colours of its flag are not intended to be linked to slavery.

But that doesnt mean questions cannot be asked of The Black Country region or the symbolism behind the Black Country Flag. We shouldnt blindly beat our chest in defence of eitherflag or region without knowing their history.

The Black Country is a region of England which today covers the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. It becamethe birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, with a landscape dominated by coal mines, iron foundries, glass factories, brick works and many small industries, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Chimneys of factories, furnaces and small home forges bellowed out smoke and soot to heavily pollute the air. The pollution filled the sky and the region,described as 'Black by Day' and 'Red by Night' by the American writer Elihu Burritt, became known as The Black Country.

In 1712 the Black Country changed the world when it became the first place to harness the power of steam with the Newcomen Engine. In 1828 the working class people of the region built the Stourbridge Lion, the first steam locomotive to run in the USA. Black Country workersthey made the glass and iron for the Crystal Palace and its great exhibition in 1851 and forged the anchors and chains for great ships like the Titanic.

The efforts ofBlack Country people changed the world and shaped modern society, but that is not to say that the region and its work force did not produce items for the slave trade, or that we should dismiss the region's links to the enslavement.

African men and women were undoubtedly shackled and chained on the Atlantic crossing with items produced in The Black Country. Once they reached their destination, they would be held captive with Black Country-made products of various descriptions.

There is evidence of Black Country products marketed specifically for the slave market with items listed as Negro Collars and African Chains. Enslavement was big business and wealthy men capitalised on that industry to make as much money as possible.

The rich people who marketed these products neithercared about the slaves that their products were used on, nor those who made the products. The working-class people of the Black Country were extremely poor. Life expectancy in the region in 1841 was 17 years old. People worked from the age they could walk, and some died before they became adults. There was no luxury for our ancestors and there was no profit. They worked hard in hope they would live a little longer than the people dying around them. If cholera didnt kill them then hard work would.

The working-class people of the Black Country never profited from the slave trade, in fact there is little evidence to suggest that they even knew what their products were used for.

When modern Black Country folk show pride for the history of our region, it is the working-class people we are proud of. We dont take pride in the starvation wages that our ancestors were paid or the squalid conditions they were forced to work in or the rich who profited from the slave trade. We celebrate the hard work of our ancestors and the fight they put up to ensure the first ever minimum wage, we respect the courage shown by people uniting and laying down their tools to ensure women were paid equally.

This is not a case of pitting the plight of our Black Country ancestors against the horrendous treatment of the people who were enslaved. It is saying that in many cases working class Black Country people and Black slaves were victims of the very same people who profited from their labour.

To cause offence intention matters, and there is no intention to offend anyone with the Black Country Flag. Most people I speak to are not offended.

The Black Country flag was designed by 12-year-old Gracie Sheppard in 2012. It features a glass cone to represent the glass industry of the Black Country. The cone is flanked by black and red panels inspired by Elihu Burritts famous description of the area, and the chain across the centre represents the chain industry in the region but also symbolises the linking up of different communities.

We should all take time to learn about the remarkably interesting history of our region and it should be open for discussion. Each year we celebrate Black Country Day on July 14. We have a Black Country Anthem and Black Country Flag - and I am proud to fly it.

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There's nothing 'racist' about the Black Country flag - the reality is far more interesting - Telegraph.co.uk