After a tumultuous summer of far-right racists and bigots raising St George’s flags across the country in displays of unbridled, xenophobically-motivated nationalism, people in south Manchester have taken a stand. A group of ordinary citizens from the city have launched a grassroots flag campaign to celebrate the “richness of cultures in Britain”. Crucially, the initiative aims to counter the “unsavoury spread” of “symbols of slavery and empire” throughout streets across the country.
Proudly home to so many cultures: new flag campaign to rail against ‘Operation Raise the Colours’
Launching a new campaign to counteract the intimidation of the far-right, the group of Manchester residents has created a flag to send a different message. In bold, multi-coloured text, it proclaims:
PROUDLY HOME TO SO MANY CULTURES
That’s the key message the campaign wants to encapsulate. Crucially, it notes that while “in theory”, the St George’s flags could “just be a reminder of where we live”, their proliferation on lamp-posts, roundabouts, and bridges all over the nation was nothing of the sort.
Importantly, it emphasised that:
In practice, nobody should have to see symbols of slavery and empire in their streets.
We all know our country’s heritage, and this is why we all know that since its creation and still today, the English flag has been used to intimidate, exploit, and terrorise people, here in Britain, and all around the world.
And it’s spot on. The flags this summer are impossible to separate from Britain’s shameful colonial past. Likewise, it’s inextricable from rose-tinted racist’s calls for returning to the so-considered halcyon days of British colonial conquest: a time of slavery, pillage, and plunder of Indigenous Black and brown communities all across the globe.
So instead, the campaign wants to set the record straight. It adds “a key point missing” from much of the media discourse:
we, the majority of people living in Britain, are immensely proud to be from all around the world, and to live with people also from all around the world.
Instead of flags tied to violence, flags of inclusivity and care for our communities
Already, the group has strung the flag across several bridges in Manchester:
The team behind Proudly Home To So Many Cultures told the Canary that they came together because:
Instead of flags tied to violence and exclusion, we want to celebrate what really makes this country liveable: the richness of cultures, creativity, and everyday acts of care that shape our neighbourhoods.
The campaign goes further to describe that its flag is:
about celebrating the richness of cultures in Britain. While the UK was and continues to be a violent and harmful state, which none of us should be proud of, we can still celebrate and care for the diversity of cultures and creativity of the people who make this place liveable. From music, to food, and art, and everyday acts of care and solidarity, there are millions of people, all across the country, constantly shaping this place for the better.
Moreover, pre-empting any accusations from self-professed ‘patriots’ (yes, the ones terrorising marginalised communities), it explains how the campaign is quite “the opposite” of “anti-England”, proudly stating:
We believe loving where we live means looking after it, which includes being honest about our country’s history and calling out the bigotry and violent narrative from our neighbours.
It also means taking a stand, and reminding ourselves and everyone else, that what actually matters is all of us, not just a few: that together, we, the so-called migrants, the workers, the carers, the queer and trans folks, the parents, the disabled people, the young people, the old people, keep each other safe by showing up for each other every day. Our biggest pride is us, it is community, not nationalism.
Because, at the end of the day, it’s our diverse, intersectional communities that keep communities safe. The far-right continues to target people from these marginalised groups. So, the campaign is unequivocal in its calls for solidarity between oppressed communities.
A message to targeted communities: ‘you are not alone’
So, as fascism flourishes amid rampant racism, Islamophobia, transphobia, ableism, and classism, campaigns like these are needed now more than ever.
It’s why the group is calling for people who believe in “kindness, hope, and belonging” everywhere to get behind it. In particular, it’s asking members of the public to print the flag and put it in their windows, on their balconies, and fences across the country.
It signed off its campaign with a vital message:
To everyone who feels the chill of these flags appearing on our streets: know that you are not alone. Do not be afraid. We are organised and there are more of us than there are of them.
So join us. Celebrate joy and life, confront their hate with our solidarity. Show that pride does not belong to a colonial flag, but to all the different cultures around us.
We are proudly home to so many cultures. You should be too.
Featured images supplied.
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