Windrush Generation Experiences Online, Talk and Q&A

Black History Month / Windrush Generation Experiences Online, Talk and Q&A

A discussion about the importance of preserving Black history and its relevance today.

The University of Wolverhampton presents an online discussion about the Windrush Generation Experiences Online display currently on show at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery until 20th December.

Twenty years ago 107 people who came from the Caribbean and South Asia to live in Wolverhampton recorded their experiences in over 80 hours of video and audio interviews. The recordings give an insight into where the settlers came from, their beliefs and backgrounds, where they lived, the work they did and the difficulties they faced.

This important historical collection is now being put on YouTube for everyone to experience.

Delva Campbell whilst working for Wolverhampton City Council, organised a successful event to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of HMV Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks, bringing one of the first post-war groups of West Indian migrants to the UK.

Dr Richard Hawkins, reader in history at the University of Wolverhampton is chair of BE-ME (Black and Ethnic Minority Experience), the organisation that recorded the interviews in 1999.

Dr Patrick Vernon OBE first called for a day, now known as Windrush Day, to recognise the contribution of the Windrush Generation to British society, and led the campaign at the height of the ‘Windrush scandal’ concerning people who were detained, denied legal rights, threatening with deportation and in 83 cases wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office.

Frank Challenger set up and ran Light House media centre from 1986 to 2012 and was involved with BE-ME from the start. He is now managing the project to put the interviews online.

Black History Month 2021

Rich Fann: American Higher Education's approach to Inclusivity / Elsie Gayle: How The Windrush Generation Helped Build The NHS / Machel St Patrick Hewitt: West Indian Cricket Culture in the 21st Century British Context / Rich Fann: Black Representation Beyond Black History Month / Ifemu Omari Webber: This Book Was Not Meant For Us - A Fresh Look at the History of Mary Prince / Reece McKenzie and Daniel Williams: Black Representation in Musical Theatre / Elizabeth Ivwurie: Cultural Appropriation in the Film, Music and Fashion Creative Industries

Black History Month 2020

In Conversation with Roy McFarlane / Restoring the lost history of Black theatre performers in the West Midlands 1900 – 1950 / Daliso Chaponda Joking about Race, Politics and Your Lovelife without Offending People, Getting Cancelled or Arrested or Divorced / Remembering Paulette Wilson / In Conversation: Dr Max Stewart and Glass Artist Chris Day / From Volunteer to CEO, Marcia Lewinson discusses the challenges facing women of colour / We Want Our Bodies Back – Jessica Care Moore / Windrush Generation Experiences Online, Talk and Q&A /100 Greatest Black Britons: Patrick Vernon / The Whip: In conversation with Juliet Gilkes-Romero