Windrush: A neglected population

The ‘Windrush generation’ is a term that has gone beyond a historical epithet used to describe a population of Caribbean Brits in the United Kingdom. It has become a fully-fledged movement.

Around ½ a million Caribbeans came to Britain from their native countries between 1948 and 1971. These people became integral to the country’s fabric and shaped a multiracial Britain into the 21st Century. Why, then, are they either misremembered or, worse, not covered in the histories of this country? Why are nations so afraid of their history? And why do they seek to silence the waves of immigration that made them so prosperous?

The Leamington Spa Art Gallery is trying to bring back some of this history in tableau form. Annabel Rainbow’s decorative prints depict the rich history and plight of the Windrush generation, shedding light on something previously cloaked in question marks.

“My art quilts are not really decorative pieces – they are narratives stitched into fabric, each one telling a story that reflects broader social themes” she said.

She also added that “Projects like this help to keep the voices of the Windrush generation alive.”

Destroying or ignoring landing and status records was indicative of this kind of neglect and flew in the face of the multiracial country, which the Windrush generation sought to cultivate

This is a reclamation of a history with too many unknowns. There are currently 623,115 British Caribbeans in the UK. The Windrush scandal, which emerged in 2018, threatened to erase the plight of this entire population, who were essential to rebuilding the country in the wake of one of the most monumental wars in history. The scandal said that the sacrifices of this population, for the country, did not matter to the British government.

There should be more care around our country’s history before wrongfully deporting thousands of our citizens, without proper cause. Destroying or ignoring landing and status records was indicative of this kind of neglect and flew in the face of the multiracial country, which the Windrush generation sought to cultivate.

This reeling back against the past has caused a resounding anti-immigration sentiment across the globe. The UK is also experiencing this, with protests in the summer and an uptick in the popularity of the Reform party. The very multi-racial society that makes Britain great is being challenged.

Between 30 July and 7 August, an estimated 29 anti-immigration riots occurred up and down the UK. This was a stark and troubling testament to the ‘whiplash’ attitude shift away from multiculturalism in the UK in recent years.

In the midst of one of the most fraught debates in the country, the one thing we cannot do is nothing

Violent attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers, prominently displayed on news programming everywhere with a television for days on end, showed the UK going backwards, towards the hostile society that the first Windrush migrants faced when they first arrived in the country over 70 years ago.

At this moment, Great Britain is at a crossroads. It can embrace the multicultural state that it is being transformed into every day, one where each culture creates a vibrant mixture of perspectives, ideas, intellectual capital, and wealth creation. Alternatively, it can be a place that highlights differences and protects the dying ideal of ‘keeping Britain for Brits’.

The balance between these two outcomes is being fought hard every day, not just within government: in schools and universities; in press rooms and television sets; in policing and healthcare; and art galleries and bookstores. The decision will fall on the younger generations to decide the kind of Britain we would like to see and live in. In the midst of one of the most fraught debates in the country, the one thing we cannot do is nothing.

In the name of those thousands of wide-eyed Caribbeans who travelled thousands of miles into the unknown to be British, and rebuild the nation, we have to give voice to those who are now appealing to do the same. We owe them this much.