"The late poet Benjamin Zephaniah was a proud son of Handsworth, and like many of us who grew up there, he understood its complexities and loved its vibrancy. Zephaniah died in 2023 but he would have had much to say about shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick's recent comments about the diverse inner-city Birmingham ward. Jenrick complained that he didn't see another white face on his visit there,"
"Waking up to Jenrick's distorted comments as a British-Asian daughter of immigrant parents, I immediately felt like fodder in this latest salvo of our culture war, swept into otherness without a pause for thought about what those words would mean for millions of black, Asian and minority ethnic British people like me. My relationship with Handsworth is complicated. I was born and lived there until my late teens and my mother and close family members still live in the area."
Benjamin Zephaniah was a proud son of Handsworth and embodied its complexities and vibrancy. Zephaniah died in 2023. Robert Jenrick visited Handsworth and said he didn't see another white face, calling the area as close as he has come to a slum in this country. Jenrick added that his concern was not about skin colour or faith but about people living alongside each other. A British-Asian daughter of immigrant parents describes feeling othered by those remarks. The narrator was born and raised in Handsworth; parents worked in a cotton factory owned by a Gujarati family, instilling a strong work ethic. Neighbours played cricket across Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani and white communities, and Soho Road bustled with kitchens simmering with samosas.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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