Gen Z look back on how it all started

How well is the story of Windrush remembered by younger generations today? By

DO THE new generation of Caribbean people remember the story of the Windrush, and if so how much do they know? The arrival of those pioneers in 1948 changed the fabric of British society as we know it today, as they got public services back on its feet after the devastation of the Second World War.

For those that grew up in Britain and for those that made the journey after the Windrush era, the school curriculum is still accused of not only white-washing of the horrors of the empire but also downgrading the contribution of Black people to the prosperity of Britain.

The Voice spoke to Generation Z on what Windrush means to them and why it’s important that young people remember their profound legacy.

Daneille Guthrie, 28, family from the Cayman Islands

DANIELLE

GUTHRIE, 28, moved to the UK when she was just eight-yearsold and tells The Voice she first heard about the Windrush generation through TV coverage.

Being from the Caribbean, the racial equality campaigner says she has always had a rich interest in culture and Black history. But it was in the wake of the Windrush scandal in 2018 where her interest truly peaked.

“The Windrush generation paved the way in many systems and benefits that all communities in the UK benefit from.

“From the more spoken about things such as the NHS, public transport and culture but also in terms of creating and carving out space for marginalised ethnic communities to thrive such as the Race Relations Act and contributing to media standards in the early forms of Ofcom,” she says.

Danielle has even gone as far as founding IN.Society, her own racial equality platform that aims to confront the racist immigration

Leah Mahon

laws that led to the Windrush scandal and the ongoing fight for compensation. She believes that young people like her need to remember all that came before to make Britain what it is today.

“Young people need to understand the history of Britain and who contributed to the opportunities they know benefit from, as well as why we live in a multicultural nation and the contributions made to modern Britain,” the race equality activist says.

“Without knowing the Windrush generations story, especially in today’s times where migration, immigration and refugees are often spoken about in a negative light, it is important to remind and educate on the contribution of how the Windrush generation added crucial value.”

Daneille is proudly Caribbean and says she values the sense of pride and community that the culture shares across islands.

“We have strong values set in family, big gatherings to celebrate and spend time with each other, hospitality, food, music and dancing,” she adds. “I value our sense of creating and making happy moments even in dark times.”

Richie Brave, 40, family from Guyana BBC RADIO 1XTRA presenter Richie Brace was born in New Cross, south London but his connection to the Windrush generation goes back to the 1960s when his dad first arrived in Britain from Guyana.

He tells The Voice their presence has “orchestrated Black identity in Britain”.

“Even the language that we use, a lot of it is rooted in Jamaican tonality, or West Indian tonality more widely. So even if we see things like ‘Wagwan,’ a lot of people take that for granted, but actually the language that we’re using is patois regularly and openly in the country constantly, but we don’t realise where that comes from,” he explains.

Richie adds that the Windrush generation impact on the fabric of British society is undeniably political, with a direct root to Black liberation in the UK.

He hails people like Grenadian Professor Gus John who orchestrated the Black People’s Day of Action following the devastation of the New Cross Fire in 1981.

Or Trinidadian Althea Jones-LeCointe, who led the British Black Panther movement and revolutionaries behind the Mangrove Nine.

“When they came here, they didn’t just come here, and sat passively, they came here they organised and actually, the only reason why we have got the level of freedom that we have, and it might not be much but we have the space to do, the things that we’re doing is because they lived through that harsh environment,” says Richie.

“They fought, and I don’t think they’re given enough credit or given their flowers for the space that they created for us — we’re standing on their shoulders.”

The BBC presenter stops short of calling the younger generation unappreciative of Windrush’s impact on the society they’ve grown to call home.

“We cannot say that young people live outside of these families, their grandparents, their great grandparents, are the people who came over in the Windrush generation,” he says.

“Their 80-year old, great grandmothers depending on what age we’re looking at, or their grandmothers, and for some of us, our parents…I think sometimes we take it for granted, rather than disrespect it.”

Richie says he plans to spend Windrush Day this year surrounded by family and playing mas at Grenada carnival, loving the food and music of his culture, celebrating the “vibrancy of us” as well the unique individuality.

He adds: “Identity is not a monolith, right? So, we’ve got doubles in Trinidad, we’ve got pine tarts in Guyana. We’ve got patties in Jamaica, we’ve got oil down in Grenada. You look across these islands and these countries and there is just a breadth of music and culture and food and beauty; it’s how different we are but how that thread connects us all.”

Olivia Patten, 32, family from Jamaica

LIKE SO many of the Windrush generation, Olivia Patten’s grandmother arrived from Jamaica and worked as a nurse for the NHS to aid the labour shortages after the Second World War.

“I heard about it firsthand,” she tells The Voice. “My grandma came over to be a nurse. And so I’ve kind of heard her side of it and the experience that she had working with English people, why they came, and what they were told over in Jamaica that made them even want to come here…they thought the streets

PROFOUND LEGACY: Those who came over on the Empire Windrush changed the fabric of British society as we know it today (photo: PA Images)