This weekend Birmingham will once again find itself at the centre of a political demonstration as Britain First supporters gather in the city.
As editor of BirminghamLive, I have spent years listening to the concerns of people across our region. I have heard frustration from residents who feel their communities have changed rapidly. I have spoken to people struggling with rising bills, shrinking public services, long NHS waiting lists and a cost of living crisis that seems to offer no respite. I have met workers who feel they are earning less in real terms than they were a decade ago and young people who wonder whether they will ever own a home.
Those concerns are reasonable and real.
It is entirely legitimate in a democracy to question immigration policy. It is entirely legitimate to ask whether governments have properly planned for population growth. It is entirely legitimate for people to feel unheard, under-served and overlooked, whether they live in Birmingham, the Black Country or elsewhere in the UK.
Ahead of the Britain First demo this weekend, citizens should be able to voice those concerns freely and peacefully. In fact, healthy democracies depend upon it.
And while the concerns are reasonable, it strikes me Britain First aren't. There is a line between challenging policy and vilifying people.
That distinction matters enormously in Birmingham.
This is one of the most diverse cities in Europe. According to the latest census data, Birmingham is now a majority-minority city, with no single ethnic group making up more than half of the population. Our schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and places of worship reflect a city that has been shaped by generations of migration and cultural exchange.
The overwhelming majority of Birmingham residents, regardless of race, faith or background, are simply trying to build decent lives for themselves and their families.
That is why I approach events like this weekend's rally with a degree of nervousness.
History tells us that far-right demonstrations do not always remain focused on policy debates. Concerns about immigration can quickly become something else. Rhetoric can drift from discussing border controls and public services into language that targets entire communities. References to immigration can become coded attacks on ethnic minorities. Criticism of government policy can morph into hostility towards Muslims. What begins as a political protest can sometimes attract individuals whose grievance is not with policy but with people.
That should concern all of us.
Because the reality of modern Birmingham is that people from different backgrounds face remarkably similar challenges.
Walk through Small Heath, Erdington, Kingstanding, Sparkbrook, Northfield or Handsworth and you will find families worried about paying the bills. You will find parents concerned about school places and healthcare. You will find workers anxious about job security. You will find pensioners struggling with energy costs.
Poverty does not check skin colour before it arrives at someone's door.
The cost of living crisis does not discriminate by religion.
A lack of opportunity affects people from every community.
None of these problems are solved by telling struggling people that another struggling group is somehow responsible for their difficulties.
Indeed, some of the most deprived areas of Birmingham contain residents from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds living side by side, facing the same economic realities.
The challenge for politicians is to address those realities honestly and effectively. The challenge for citizens is to engage in debate without losing sight of our shared humanity.
So by all means, debate immigration. Question government decisions. Demand better public services. Challenge those in power.
But do not blame your neighbour for the failures of Westminster. Do not mistake a person's ethnicity, religion or country of origin for the cause of economic hardship. And do not allow legitimate concerns to be weaponised into prejudice.
Birmingham has never been a city without problems. But it has also never been a city that prospers through division.
This weekend, as demonstrators and counter-demonstrators take to the streets, that is worth remembering.
The issue you articulate can't be solved by turning communities against one another. If anything, progress is more likely if we all fight the same battle.
