Our project #ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack is focused on the relationships between heritage of race, identity, and belonging for the Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) community in Bristol. Recent local and national events have thrust into the spotlight the complicated nature of race and racism, nation, citizenship, inequality, and belonging in the UK and at the center of many of these debates are the BME community. From the election of BME mayors in London and Bristol to the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement to the Brexit vote, the UK is at a crossroads in identifying as a nation what British heritage means and who fits into that imagination. In particular our project is focused on how BME individuals and communities navigate this terrain when racial
and nationalistic rhetoric is being used to question the place and heritage of black and brown bodies within the UK. Our project will chart the changing nature of BME identity in the city through conversations (both group and one-on-one) with BME Bristolians across generations and genders with the help of trained BME volunteers from the community. In the end we will produce a short documentary that compliments out Race Through the Generation documentary along with a #ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack syllabus for wider distribution.