Simon Hattenstone’s excellent piece questioning the retention of the “slave ship” emblem in Manchester’s coat of arms and the badges of the city’s two Premier League football clubs is a classic illustration of how institutional racism operates, with such organisations turning a blind eye to the racism from which they or their members flourished (Abandon ship: does this symbol of slavery shame Manchester and its football clubs?, 19 April).
Graham Stringer MP and the council say the ship is to celebrate “free trade”, notably a trade that principally benefited the wealthier classes in Manchester’s cotton towns. The area’s mill workers suffered terrible conditions and impoverishment, which is why they led the general strike movements in the 19th century. Meanwhile, it is recorded that terrible atrocities were carried out in the British colonies in the name of “free trade”.
