I believe I have mentioned in the past that one of
the wonderful things about Birmingham is that it is a multi-cultural paradise,
with a diverse number of communities including Pakistani, Somali, Indian,
Yemini, English, Irish, Polish, Jewish, Chinese, and Kurdish (not to mention
Welsh, as evidenced by my landlady, Myfanwy) – add to that the amazing number
of different ethnicities who attend the University of Birmingham, and the
number sky-rockets even further.
This evening I attended another event at ‘the mac.’ In one of my frequent forays there I had
picked up a flyer telling about a new art exhibit that was soon to open,
entitled ‘By the Rivers of Burminam.’ Having scanned the pages, I discovered
that the opening gala was this very night. (Related events include joining the
photographer for an informal afternoon, reflecting on days gone by, over a game
of dominoes; a walking tour through the associated Birmingham neighborhoods of Handsworth
and Lozells; plus an artist’s talk and publication launch.) The retrospective
(probably the greatest documentation of the Caribbean diaspora {the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland) in post-war
Britain, detailing the experience of Black people in the UK and their community
identity) includes over 100 photographs from 1968 through 2011 of the local
Jamaican culture – the ‘minority-majority’ of Birmingham, and is part of the
‘mac at fifty’ series, ‘a programme of exhibitions, events and activities
marking 50 years of mac Birmingham and the provision of arts for all.’
My queries confirmed that this group of Afro-Caribbeans
came to Britain’s largest communities, firstly because of the British
colonization system that opened up the doors, and then, secondly for economic
reasons during the 1950’s, when menial jobs were going for the taking and where
no ‘decent’ Brit would have them. Droves poured in as they were encouraged to immigrate
and fill up the deficit in the country, while following that, family members, already
here, urged and sponsored their friends and relatives back home to join them. I
understand the largest sector of employment was in the transport industry – bus
and train operators, mechanics, porters, etc., plus all the other associated fringe
jobs you can imagine.
No doubt some of what spurred this photographer,
Vanley Burke, into representing this particular theme, besides being of the
culture himself, resulted from the fact the Birmingham has been the site of
considerable unrest through the years. Back in 1981, the main motives for the riots that took place were related
to racial tension and inner-city deprivation. The riots were caused by a
distrust of the police and authority by the large ethnic minority communities,
who had largely come from the Commonwealth in the 1960s and 1970s to do low
paid jobs. All the areas suffered from poor housing, high unemployment and
particular problems with racial tensions. The areas of Handsworth and
Lozells were originally built as affluent areas of Birmingham;
however, the relocation of industry, poor connections and the influx of migrant
workers had led to a downfall in their fortunes and the large Victorian
terraces and villas were divided up into low rent bed sits. During the ensuing
riots hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and smashing,
even setting off fire bombs.
By the new millennium, the ethnicity of the
same neighborhoods had shifted somewhat, still related to Britain’s old
colonization system. In Lozells, the
majority of the Asian (in America referred to
as East Indian) population was of Pakistani
and Bangladeshi origin, while the black population was predominantly Caribbean. By 2005, the
animosity that preceded a second burst of rioting appears to have been largely
based on local economic rivalry combined with possible agitation from opposing
criminal gangs. The problems specific to this area appear to be centered on the
prevalence of Asian-owned businesses, as well as the 'unfair treatment' and
'derogatory attitudes' of each community to the other. An alleged rape fomented
what began a horrendous several days of violence.
These
disturbances demonstrate the complexity of ‘race’ and racism in modern day
Britain, and illustrate how the issues of ‘race,’ class and gender interweave.
Although the rape-claims were never substantiated, they raised issues of the
attitudes of men towards women of different ethnic groups. They also brought to
the surface deeper concerns over the competition
between different, but, similarly disadvantaged, ethnic groups over scarce
resources. In the area, unemployment ran at 22%. The disorder demonstrated too,
that the issues of ‘race’ and racism transcend black and white. Against a
grim socio-economic backdrop, the disturbances in Lozells, highlighted the multidirectional
flows of inter-ethnic tension. Perhaps in this kind of socio-economic melting
pot, disturbances such as these may sadly be viewed as inevitable to the future
of this community – hopefully this will not be the case.
Back at ‘the
mac,’ the most interesting part of the
evening for me had been rubbing shoulders with the fascinating group that had
assembled, not like anything I was used to – to feel their excitement, to
observe the renewal of long-forgotten friendships and to wonder if it had been in
one these photographic scenes displayed on the walls of the gallery that their
relationships had first been established. Except for the composition of the crowd
. . . AND the fully stocked bar on the
side, hobnobbing had felt very much like being on my own turf, at a similar opening
night in a galley of BYU’s MOA.
**I never knew it – or even really thought about
it before, for that matter, until I came across the title of this particular exhibit,
that Birming’am is interlaced with its own river system – the River Cole, the
River Rea (about 14 miles from its source, the Rea becomes a tributary of the River Tame, with its waters eventually
reaching and emptying into the North Sea at the Humber Estuary – been
there, done that: Cleethorpes!), and the River Tame (the most important tributary of the larger River Trent, one of the major rivers of England, that
also reaches the sea at the Humber Estuary) – among which you can find a meander, a
tributary and a confluence, to name but a few of their many riparian features.
Haven’t even really noticed them – where are they hiding?! (Aha, quote: ‘the River Rea (pronounced Ray) is covered by a culvert for much of its course through Birmingham during which it passes
through the Pebble Mill area and runs uncovered through CANNON HILL PARK’)
Hey, that’s right where ‘the mac' is – where I often go! Here’s one of the
rivers, right under my nose – if it’d been a spider it would have bit me. See,
they’ve been there all along – I just didn’t know it!
[Of passing interest and to give credit where
credit is due (Re: the Royal mail): Once
a while back, when the memory card was not in my camera – but I didn’t know it
– I was madly taking some photos when out of the blue my camera suddenly told
me that it was out of memory space. What?! That was a sad revelation; I, of
course, assuming it was referring to the memory card. I was putzing around trying
to figure out exactly what was going on when I discovered a series of photos of
people I had never seen before in my life. What – again! Who is this?! It was
then that I realized my camera could store a limited number of photos right in
the camera itself. (Surely didn’t realize that. Did you?!) So, still needing to
get the set of photos off I had been taking, Martin helped me order a cord over
the Internet. (You may recall that I purchased said camera at the BYU Lost
& Found sale, and though it came with a lovely leather purse, it was sadly
lacking any other equipment, and certainly not a user’s manual.) The most
interesting thing, and the reason I bring this up in the first place, is that,
having ordered it Wednesday night from the Wards’ computer, I received it
today, delivered to my home with the Friday mail. That’s amazing!]
Photos_
1- ‘Young men wait for a funeral service at New
Testament Church of God.’ George Street, Lozells (neighborhood of Birmingham).
1972 (two years before your oldest sister was born). Probably my favorite of
the 100 plus photographs, covering the period of time from 1968 (the year I
graduated from high school and started BYU) to 2011 (eleven years into the new millennium,
and you were all there).
2-7- a lively confluence of personalities
8- the biggest honkin’ ‘Sound system @ Birmingham
International Carnival.’ Handsworth Park, Handsworth (another neighborhood of
Birmingham). 1987.
9- far from the maddening crowd
