Black Country Festival founder on the meaning of the Black Country flag
Steve Edwards, founder of the Black Country Festival, explains the history of the Black Country region and flag.
First of all, let me say that the Black Country name is nothing to do with race or ethnicity. And the imagery or colours of the Black Country flag are not intended to be linked to slavery.
But that doesn’t mean questions can not be asked of the Black Country region or the symbolism behind the Black Country flag. We shouldn’t blindly beat our chest in defence of both the flag or the region without knowing its history.
The Black Country is a region of England which today covers the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The region was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and its landscape was dominated with coal mines, iron foundries, glass factories, brick works and many small industries for 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 which was described as 'Black by Day' and 'Red by Night' by 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 which was the first steam locomotive to run in the USA, they made the glass and iron for the Crystal Palace and its great exhibition in 1851 and also forged the anchors and chains for great ships like the Titanic.
The hard work by Black Country people changed the world and shaped the modern world we see today 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 regions links to the enslavement.
African men and women were undoubtedly shackled and chained on the Atlantic crossing with items that were 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 rich men capitalised on that industry to make as much money as possible.
The rich people who marketed these products did not care about the slaves that their products were used on and they did not care about the people who made the products either.
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 didn’t 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 don’t 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 their hard work and the fight they put up to ensure the first ever minimum wage, we respect the courage shown by people uniting and laying down of 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 is important and there is no intention to offend anyone with the Black Country flag. If I am honest 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 Burritt’s famous description of the area “black by day and red by night”, and the chain across the centre represents the chain industry in the region but is also to symbolise the linking up of the different communities.
I believe we should all take time 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 14th. We have a Black Country anthem and Black Country flag.
I am not an expert, just someone who loves the Black Country and exploring our history.
I am proud to fly the Black Country Flag.
Steve Edwards
