At Peace Hub we’ve been having conversation with many people recently, who are feeling a sense of anxiety about the platform that racist rhetoric and symbols are being given in the media and in public spaces.
Below we share local campaigns and resources you can use to help connect with others and start building a sense of solidarity and hope. There are opportunities to share symbols of unity, start having courageous conversations, and use our collective voices to speak truth to power. These are small steps that help build connection, which strengthens us against division and fear.
If you’d like to discuss any of these ideas, connect with others, or share other initiatives that we can highlight, please get in touch.
Brummies United Poster Campaign
Brummies United Against Racism & Hate Crime began in Moseley in 2022 and has spread across the city. At the heart of the campaign is sharing posters and stickers with a message of peace, hope, and solidarity.
They invite people to use the posters and share them across your neighbourhoods. Maybe your local councillors, faith organisations, schools, youth and community groups or shops could have them printed and you could ask local people to display them in their windows?
There is a WhatsApp community to connect with others in your local area to help spread the word – drop us a message and we’ll share the link with you.
#RaiseTheLove Stickers
Local artist Kaytee DeWolfe has created these stickers incorporating flags of many diaspora communities and other UK nations into the George cross, with the message ‘I love my neighbours’.
Stickers are available from Peace Hub, donations towards the artist’s printing costs are appreciated.
Kaytee says:
“Unlike the unease provoked by mass-produced flags, my design reclaims the power of symbols, offering them back as a reflection of solidarity. With the hashtag #RaiseTheLove, the message is clear: instead of fear, we choose connection.”
Open Letter to the Home Secretary
Asylum Matters are inviting individuals and organisations in Birmingham and the West Midlands to sign an open letter highlighting our Brummie values towards migration and how it made Birmingham great; and how these are being undermined by divisive rhetoric and dangerous policy.
The letter is addressed to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is also the MP for Birmingham Ladywood. Anyone in the West Midlands region is invited to sign, the deadline is Monday 13th October.
Courageous Conversations
City of Sanctuary share resources on how to start having courageous conversations about refugee rights. Recognising that it can be difficult to know where to start, especially when we don’t know how others will respond; this guide offers some simple tips on what is effective, and how to feel confident.
They highlight evidence that a ten minute conversation can make a big difference, if done in the right way.
