Corinne Fowler

1. On political gaslighting. Yesterday Jenrick defended his comments on Handsworth by lashing out at 2 pieces of work I was centrally involved with to imply it's people like me who are divisive, not him...

3. Meanwhile Jenrick says he's concerned that "people are living parallel lives". Yet his home county identifies as 96.9% white and his constituency identifies as 98% white. The parallel universes in his own back yards speak volumes. Meanwhile, Handsworth is one of Britain's most diverse areas.

2. The current rhetoric of those who mobilise racism for political gain proposes that those who investigate colonial history and modern racism are the problem. Not racism itself.

1. On political gaslighting. Yesterday Jenrick defended his comments on Handsworth by lashing out at 2 pieces of work I was centrally involved with to imply it's people like me who are divisive, not him...

It's Jenerick who isn't integrated. 96.9% of Hertfordshire (location of his family home) identify as white (far higher than the national average). Handsworth is one of the most mixed areas in the country

What an excellent idea. Happy to help out as a driver or guide. I've lived in Birmingham all my life, worked in Handsworth (& my best friend (who is white) grew up there. You'd be welcome Bab!

If it's 'not about' skin colour, #RobertJenerick could move to a more mixed area (ethnicity stats for his Herefordshire family home):
"An overwhelming 96.9 per cent of the population said they were white." (Source, Herefordshire Times on the 2021 census)

Jenrick could have visited Handsworth to listen to residents – he chose to pass through and make a judgement based on the colour of their skin. Instead of getting to know our nation of neighbours, he chose racism.

The Tories, Reform and Labour want to divide us.

The Greens say enough is enough.

@zackpolanski.bsky.social @ZackPolanski your message of hope is the way to go. Would be amazing if you could now visit #Handsworth
to counter Jenerick's misrepresentation of our global society here in #Birmingham

@onlyinbirmingham.bsky.social #Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

@zackpolanski.bsky.social @ZackPolanski your message of hope is the way to go. Would be amazing if you could now visit #Handsworth
to counter Jenerick's misrepresentation of our global society here in #Birmingham

@onlyinbirmingham.bsky.social #Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

So right

"concrete with a heartbeat", Zephaniah called for unity, celebrating the rich diversity of our neighbourhood.

Jenrick looks small, weak and foolish by comparison.

@onlyinbirmingham.bsky.social #Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

@zackpolanski.bsky.social @ZackPolanski your message of hope is the way to go. Would be amazing if you could now visit #Handsworth
to counter Jenerick's misrepresentation of our global society here in #Birmingham

@zackpolanski.bsky.social @ZackPolanski your message of hope is the way to go. Would be amazing if you could now visit #Handsworth
to counter Jenerick's misrepresentation of our global society here in #Birmingham

#Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

#Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

@onlyinbirmingham.bsky.social #Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

#Handsworth could teach @RobertJenrick how to live in a global society. #BenjaminZephaniah - spirit of #Birmingham - said "Handsworth for me is...where I learnt all my skills, my communication skills, my hustling skills, my poetic skills, everything."

And at #Birmingham Literature Festival with @corinnefowler.bsky.social Malachi McIntosh & Casey Bailey this Saturday 11th October: www.ticketsource.co.uk/bhamlitfest/...

Am giving a talk @ #St.Albans museum @stalbansmuseums.bsky.social on 15 October. I'll detail
the colonial history of the British countryside. Talk starts at 7pm
www.enjoystalbans.com/event/hidden...

Do any #Arthur Wellesley #DukeofWellington expert/enthusiasts know where he writes about the 4 yr old Salabat Khan who he left money for after his troops defeated the boy's father Dhoondiah on 10 Sept 1800?

Stephen Mullen's excellent book on this topic, The Glasgow Sugar Aristocracy: Scotland and Caribbean Slavery, 1775–1838 is available to read for free from our website:

uolpress.co.uk/book/the-gla...

#OpenAccess #History #Slavery #Scotland

HOW TO PODCAST | David Olusoga & Alan Lester - The Truth About the British Empire David Olusoga and Alan Lester reveal the dark realities of the British Empire, and reflect on the importance of historians amid the resurgence of nationalism and misinformation.

The podcast of David Olusoga and I discussing Empire & the rewriting of history:

howtoacademy.com/podcasts/dav...

A Free Press, Not a Free Pass – It's Time for Fair Regulation For too long, the UK press have bullied people, harassed grieving families, and destroyed lives, all to sell papers. We’ve all seen the heartbreaking consequences. They’ve hacked phones, listened to ...

The Hack features people's bad experiences with the press. That's why I've signed the petition, set up by Hugh Grant and other phone hacking victims, to demand independent press regulation. Join me: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-...

SuAndi: Leaning Against Time: Carcanet Book Launch Join us to celebrate the launch of Leaning Against Time: Selected Poems by SuAndi, published by Carcanet Press

@suandi.bsky.social is rightly described as having an "over the garden fence" style of poetry & can hold an audience. This will be good. Online & in person
factoryinternational.org/whats-on/sua...

MHF Conference 2025: Teaching history in a ‘post-truth’ world Join us at the Midlands History Forum 2025 Annual Conference for a day of engaging discussions and networking with fellow history enthusiast

Calling all primary & secondary history teachers - it’s Midlands History Forum Annual Conference time again! Come and join us at the Black Country Living Museum on Saturday 11th Oct to hear the fabulous @corinnefowler.bsky.social and the wonderful Jeremy Hayward!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mhf-confer...

Coming soon: the Only in Birmingham podcast.