Obama pays tribute to Manchester cotton workers

Barack Obama has praised Manchester cotton workers who refused to handle slave-picked cotton during the American Civil War.

The former US president was speaking at the city's Co-op Live Arena on Thursday night as part of his A Conversation With tour.

Obama, who served as US president from 2009 to 2017, cited Manchester's cotton workers as an example of how ordinary people can help bring about social change.

He said: "It begins with the Declaration of Independence, and the suffragette movement, the civil rights movement, the abolitionist movement, and what it does is it reminds us that we are part of this ongoing story."

The evening was hosted by writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch, and covered a range of subjects including cat videos, a breakdown in social trust, and the challenges of misinformation online.

Obama described misinformation on social media as "one of the biggest dangers that we are facing right now".

"It turns out that a lot of what keeps you hooked is anger, resentment, fear, along with lust and cat videos," Obama said.

"It's an interesting map of the human brain. We all became trapped in our silos."

Obama said one of society's current crises was "a loss of faith" in stories that are "unifying" and "hopeful".

He said he was reminded of Manchester's cotton workers during the American Civil War.

"At a time when their livelihoods depended on cotton, a bunch of British, working-class workers who are hungry and not sure if they are going to be able to hold things together, they sit there and they collectively say, 'we are going to stand with those who are fighting for freedom, even though it is going to cost us'," he said.

Obama said such stories showed people from different backgrounds were "deeply connected in so many ways".

"If we can tell each other those stories and pass them to our children and our grandchildren, we'll get through these times too."

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