THE WINDRUSH GENERATION CHARACTER IS DESTINY!

For the Modern Black Community 2018 is a significant year. It is the platinum anniversary of the UK arrival of the first cohort of roughly 500 men and women from the Caribbean region, in response to the British government’s invitation to the healthy, young adults to help in the post war rebuilding effort. During the 20 years, after the arrival of the first wave of Windrush pioneers in June 1948, several more people of Caribbean background responded to this call.

The records show that almost 200,000 migrants from the Caribbean region responded and they proceeded to take up work in the brand new National Health Services (which also was formed in 1948) as nurses,doctors and ancillary staff. Some took up employment in the transportsysteminLondonandotherurban centres.Othersworkedinfactorieshelping to rebuild the manufacturing base;and others worked in the construction sector rebuilding homes and offices destroyed by Nazi bombs duringWorldWar II.These

The Windrush Generation,

character is destiny!

are the people who came to the UK from the Caribbean region,to strengthen the local workforce;these are the people we are remembering when we speak of the Windrush generation. It is common knowledge that life in the UK was not a bed of roses in the time of the Windrush generation.They knew that work was scarce in the Caribbean islands of their birth,and many had children who were dependent on the money they could send back to family members who were caring for their children.Consequently,they had to make a success of their enterprise to the unfamiliaranddistant“mothercountry”.The Windrush generation found that accessing work was not as challenging as accessing a place to live.For this reason theWindrush generation expanded the“pardner”system of group saving,which helped them to raise the money needed to purchase homes. It is common knowledge that the state schools were wrongly assessing the abilities of the children of theWindrush generation which resulted in too many being relegated tolowsetswhichtrappedtheminpathways which led to second class qualifications,and low paid jobs.TheWindrush generation respondedtothisassaultontheirchildrenby developing thousands of supplementary or Saturdayschools,whichchanged the academic trajectory for significant numbers of their children. It is also common knowledge that the workplacewasanotherhostileenvironmentfor theWindrushgeneration,andthedevelopment andgrowthofchurchesledbyministersfrom theBlackcommunityprovidedplacesofrefuge, andfellowship,andspiritualfortification.Allof which helped theWindrush generation to becomeresilient,andhopefulofabetterfuture. In2018,some50yearsonfromthosetough and demanding two decades,we can state withadeepsenseofprideandculturalesteem that theWindrush generation succeeded in the creation of a robust platform on which today’s Modern Black Community is built. Indeed,it is their fight for racial equality and justice that paved the way for legislation;thereby forming the basis of our current Equality laws in the UK. Todayitiscleartoseethatthedescendants of theWindrush generation have found common cause with the descendants of migrantsfromseveralcountriesinAfrica,and the Dual Heritage descendants from both CaribbeanandAfricanparentagetocreatethe ModernBlackCommunity.MembersoftheMBC may be seen in both Houses of Parliament (suchasLordHermanOuseleyandLordVictor Adebowale in the Lords;and Diane Abbott, MP and Helen Grant,MP in the House of Commons);and in local government as both elected councillors and career professionals in social care,education,the Police Services, and National Health Services. Other MBC members are well placed in CivilServicedepartments,andinprivatesector firms (such as Sir Kenneth Olisa,who is also theLordLieutenant ofGreaterLondon).Some MBCmembersaremillionairesfromavariety ofsectorssuchasLewisHamiltoninF1motor racing,Jessica Ennis-Hill in athletics,to Sir Damon Buffini in merchant banking;from property entrepreneurs like FitzThomas,to the high tech entrepreneurs like Piers Linney, the founder and CEO of Outsourcery.And somearemedicalprofessionalslikeProfessor FrankChinegwundoh,anduniversityprofessors like Gus Johns.It is without doubt that membersoftheMBCarenowcontributingto virtuallyallaspectsoflifeintheUK,including the aristocracy to which Emma McQuiston became the UK’s first marchioness from the MBC a few years ago. For these reasons,today’s MBC owes a debtofgratitudetotheWindrushgeneration fortheirenterprisingspirit,theirfortitude,their creativity,andfortheirwilltosucceedagainst the odds.It is for these reasons why they rightly should be seen as the symbol of the startoftheMBCintheUK,whichnowstands atmorethan3millionBritishcitizens;all of whom are proud to be contributors to the ongoingrobustnessandprosperityoftheUK. An example of the resiliency of the MBC isthesocialenterpriseknownasReachSociety whichwasfoundedin2010byDrDwainNeil, Mr Rob Neil,OBE,and Dr Donald Palmer,and which also won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2017 for its voluntary work.Its vision is to ensure that every young person in the MBC makes an emotional connection with at least one professional in theircommunity,tobeencouraged,motivated andbeinspiredtochoosepathwaystosuccess, andtoincreasetheirsenseofculturalesteem. ReachSociety’scohortofprofessionalshave visitedschools,collegesandcommunitygroups; andhaveledworkshopsandorganisedcareers conferencesinordertoinspireyoungpeople. It has so far impacted more than 12,000 young people,and it is just one example of the confidence in the MBC. Other examples of MBC confidence is the Seventh Day Adventist Church which is managing more than a dozen schools and a theologycollege;theExcell3organisationwhich is managing roughly two dozen mentoring franchisesandtheKingSolomonInternational BusinessSchoolforthedevelopmentofyoung people,aged 5 to 19;also the Amos Bursary whichprepareshighachievingyoungBlackmen before they enter high value universities to successfullycompletetheirstudies.Wherever welookintheUK,thereisevidenceoftheMBC taking responsibility for its affairs,which augurswellforthefuture;characterisdestiny!

Dr Donald Palmer is an Associate Professor of Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Immunology at Imperial College London. He is co-founder/co-director of Reach Society,Chair of Governors of a school in North-West London and a Professional Mentor for Amos Bursary.

Dr Dwain A. Neil is a co-founderofReach Societyand its chairman. He is the director of Leriko & Associates,a managementconsultancy. He is a co-author of 3 books published by Reach Society Publishing;and a father of four children,three boys and a girl,who have completed their studies in high value universities and are working.