The BLM movement illuminated the symbolic and emotional power attached to who and what councils and communities choose to exalt in civic space. In March 2021, Manchester Council conducted public consultations to ‘ensure’ the public realm was ‘holistic’ and ‘meaningfully reflected the city’s communities past and modern-day identity’. Yet questions regarding the history of revered figures, imbalances in representation and silences in recognition remain. The following traces both new and lesser-known, but no less pivotal, plaques and monuments, their often-overlooked histories and current place.
