Handsworth: where belonging is constantly remade

In the light of Conservative MP Robert Jenrick’s inflammatory remarks about Handsworth, a district of Birmingham, UK, as ‘one of the worst integrated places’ because he had not seen another white face there, a local activist and artist recalls the way that Handsworth has been forged in the crucible of migrations, wherein identity, belonging and unity are constantly being remade. Describing the authentic fusion of working-class cultures in Handsworth, he points to the significant emergence of bands like Steel Pulse and the innovative film Handsworth Songs in the 1970s and ’80s and the endurance of their messages.