A programme of events are taking place in Leicester to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush – those who left their homes in the Caribbean for a new life in the UK.
Windrush 75 will remember those who made their home in Britain in the decades after the Second World War, as well as the men, women and children who arrived at Tilbury Docks in June 1948 on the HMT Empire Windrush – the ship that became a symbol of post-war migration.
In Leicester, a programme of events will mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Windrush, celebrating the contribution made by those pioneers and their descendants to the city’s culture and economy over the last 75 years.
Most of the events taking place in the city have been coordination by the Leicester Windrush Consortium – a network of local community groups that are working together to commemorate the anniversary.
Invited guests and community elders will join members of the consortium for a launch event at City Hall on National Windrush Day – Thursday, June 22.
Later that day, a series of panels featuring personal stories from the second and third Windrush generations will be unveiled by the former Radio Leicester presenter Herdle White, who retired in May after 50 years on air.
The unveiling will take place in front of invited guests at Leicester’s African Caribbean Centre.
The six panels will complement a series of display boards that were installed in 2021 as part of the Windrush Celebration Project.
On Saturday, June 24, everyone is welcome to enjoy the warmth of the Caribbean at a family-friendly event in Museum Square on New Walk.
On Monday June 26, staff at the African Caribbean Centre will invite children from local schools to join them for a day of storytelling. Antiguan storyteller Baden Prince will entertain the young guests with his tales from 9.15am.
Cllr George Cole, who was born in Jamaica and who last year became the first person of African-Caribbean heritage to be sworn in as Leicester’s Lord Mayor, said: “ When my parents arrived in Britain from Jamaica in the 1950s, life was tough.
“Racism was rife, which created difficulties when it came to schooling, finding accommodation or decent employment, getting a bank loan or visiting places such as pubs, clubs and churches – but their resilience saw them through.
“Windrush75 is an opportunity to look back and see how far we’ve come, knowing that we still have some way to go. But we should celebrate and say thank you to those early pioneers, who overcame great hardship to put down roots, build a new life here and, by so doing, contributed to shaping the new Britain we see emerging today.”
A full programme of events taking place in Leicester to mark Windrush75 is available at leicester.gov.uk/Windrush75
