Pastor Clive Foster & the Windrush Generation

Pastor Clive Forster and the Windrush Generation

By Pa Modou Faal

Pastor Clive Forster is a senior minister of the Pilgrim Church based in the Meadows, Nottingham where he does community action work and social justice participation as well as offering support to people affected by the Windrush scandal. In an interview with Mojatu Magazine on the occasion marking Windrush Day, Pastor Forster revealed that the story behind the Windrush Empire ship is not new to him since his parents were part of the migrants from Jamaica as later referred to the Windrush generation. He noted that the church he attends is predominantly made up of worshippers from different Caribbean Islands and that they have observed the Windrush generation many years before the 2018 scandal broke.

Our editor began by asking him how popular is the Windrush history around Nottingham?

Pastor Forster: I am proud to say that Nottingham has a history of recognising the Windrush generation, it may be low-key and does not attract much publicity because it is community-based commemoration, but it is observed annually. It took prominence following the scandal and government’s recognition of what it entails hence the national Windrush Day commemorated every 22 June marking the arrival of the Windrush Empire Ship in England.

Mojatu: It seems that the elderly generation of Black Caribbeans are more aware of Windrush.

Pastor Forster: It is very sad that the people of this country and even for people from the second and third generations and the wider society, had no idea about the Windrush Generation. The truth is that the Windrush scandal gave some prominence to the story and history. We have the responsibility in our communities to tell our own stories and history and an important way of doing that is, recognising national days and having moments where it is embedded in society through schools and communities coming together and say for example, this was a group of people who came and helped build the country which I am now benefitting from. Unfortunately, it is a sad thing that we have not given enough prominence to this, and it took a dreadful and awful injustice for us to get the recognition that we rightfully deserve. There is accountability amongst us that we have to teach the future generations and the wider community of ongoing contribution of the Windrush generation.

Mojatu: What is the level of commitment and awareness from the millennial generation?

Pastor Forster: This is the challenge before us with regards to the inter-generational understanding of learning about our history and legacy because of what that first generation did. It is about making it relevant so that the benefits and the gains that were made by them at factories and other places be recognised and despite the racism and discrimination they withstood, they integrated and brought up their families. It is about sharing those stories of resilience, hardship, struggle, wins and gains. It does not happen just by chance or unrelated, you are not just here by yourself, you have a history that you are coming from…from Africa to the Caribbean, to where you are now. Sadly, when I was at school, the only history I knew of black people is that they were slaves, that was the only history I heard. So, you can understand sometime the younger generation in the sense that they will say I do not want to be associated with the history because every thing I hear about it is negative and that story is being told by the oppressors. So, it is important that we share the importance of the Windrush generation, and that younger people recognise that, and I am inspired by some of them who have risen up as a result of this history. I think the Black Lives Matter (BLM) is playing a significant role here because I have heard so much about it during the protests against George Floyd’s death. Sometimes it takes tragedies to value our history as it were, and I am pleased to see that there are pockets of energies to it by connecting the dots of history. We have seen some black footballers playing for England being racially targeted for missing penalties and not celebrated for their heroism and contributions. It is very sad that these are Windrush generation descendants, and that racism is still around and the more we learn from it and become more resilient, the better.

Mojatu: Is it not about time we educate and equip ourselves with knowledge and information against misconceptions and fallacies?

Pastor Forster: One of the beautiful things we have now in this generation and our lifetime is access to information. Right at your fingertips, you could find out about the history of life, communities of nations and it is really about our motivation to get the required knowledge. Knowing that my grandparents helped build the NHS, roads, railways, industries etc, adds value and recognition to the individual and we need to get better at capturing and telling that history. We need to have our history taught in the curriculum like the Windrush and others in a better, responsible and more positive way. It is the duty of schools themselves to come on board and take up the responsibility of teaching our history in a better way. I am working with Nottingham Trent University and there was the observance on the Windrush Day while the university is also busy in decolonising the curriculum. The campaign is on and there is one in Nottingham for getting books

about the history of black people, the Caribbean and Africa in schools for them to engage and integrate our history in the curriculum. We have many black people in the UK and around the world who are telling our stories in a positive way. Our presence must be felt not just in sports and music but in business, art and every sector of society and it is important that the schools get a hand in it as well.

Mojatu: Would community engagements like conversations and seminars help in our enlightenment?

Pastor Forster: I think it is very important as we can see how quickly time moves on. For example, I spoke to some teenagers if they ever heard of Steven Lawrence, the young black who was murdered and how his murder affected legislation with regards to policing, institutional racism. It was his murder that changed the law with regards to how people are tried, and they were young black people who did not know anything about it and this was just 1993. For that reason, it is so important as a community of black people that we talk about those issues and our developments on how far we have come and where we want to go and the more recent things that have changed. If we do not do it, who is going to do it for us and this is the more reason why I get myself involved in the Windrush scandal. We should take ownership of our own history. You can watch/listen to the rest on the interview from our online version at www.mojatu.com

Celebrating Windrush Day By Pa Modou Faal

After World War II, the United Kingdom’s economy needed to be repaired and further rebuild to meet the much-desired demands of industrialisation and economic developments. In that regard, the British government stormed the Caribbean islands and recruited Afro-Caribbean migrants and offered them jobs. These jobs included the production of steel, coal, iron, and food, and also jobs in the service sectors, such as running public transport and staffing the new National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. June 22 of 1948, the Empire Windrush ship docked on the harbour of Tilbury in Essex bringing in a labour force we now called the Windrush Generation. They were all documented and profiled to take part in the development of the United Kingdom as former colonies of the British Empire.

These people ended up experiencing great deal of prejudice and hardship on the account of their colour and heritage. It is a moment we celebrate now not because of the dark side of the history it writes but in appreciation of their efforts, strides and resilience that avails us many privileges we enjoy today not just as black people but as children of humanity such as the NHS, reliable transport system and industrial developments. It is against this backdrop that June 22 is set aside to commemorate the Windrush history now called Windrush Day. We also celebrate this day to strengthen the enlightenment of the generation and to celebrate how far we have come and forge a brighter future for the younger generation.

The city of Nottingham plays host to many influential people of the Windrush generation heritage, and they continue to occupy pivotal roles in the development of the city. Among them include the current CEO of Nottingham City Council Melbourne Barrett, former Mayor and current Sheriff of Nottingham Merlita Bryan, Viv Anderson MBE and a Nottingham Forest legend who is notable for being the first black football player to represent England in a full international match as well as many other significant personalities. This year’s commemoration of Windrush Day marks the 4th anniversary since its inception and the theme for this year’s celebration is “Celebrating our legacy and building future generations”.