THREE GENERATIONS of the Windrush descendants will gather at Luton Town Hall on June 22 to celebrate the contribution of African and Caribbean communities to the town on National Windrush Day.

The public event has been organised by the African Caribbean Community Development Forum (ACCDF) as part of the Luton Windrush Partnership, and is being supported by Luton Borough Council.

Attendees will hear from a variety of intergenerational speakers who made Luton their home including Mrs E. Ible OBE, from the St Kitts and Friends Association, a founder member of the West Indian Nurses Association; Mr Cecile Harrison, who founded the well-known CEAGA Travel Agency that served the community in Bury Park West Indian Community for many decades with flights linking local communities with the Caribbean and speakers representing the second and third Windrush generations.

Younger generations are emerging as new leaders, stepping into their space to stand up and speak for their communities.

Lorna Markland, co-founder of ACCDF

A central focus of the celebration will be the raising of the Windrush Flag, linked to the symbolism of the Empire Windrush and other ships which travelled from the Caribbean over several decades.

This first historic ship travelled from Kingston docks in Jamaica, arriving in Tilbury in June 1948, but the Windrush term applies to a whole generation of people who were invited by the British government to provide much needed labour until around 1971.

The flag will be raised over Luton Town Hall at noon on June 22 and fly until the following day. A long list of local authorities are also due to raise the Windrush Flag this year, including Bradford, Preston, Leeds, Salford, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Southampton, Newcastle, Manchester, Peterborough and Horrogate along with NHS Calderdale and NHS Huddersfield Foundation Trusts. A Windrush Flag will also be raised at the headquarters of the Home Office, MCHLG and DEFRA in Westminster, London.

Poignant

The event will be particularly poignant this year in view of recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations fighting for equality and recognition, and reminding the public worldwide of the contribution of those of African heritage to communities globally.

Cllr Jacqui Burnett, who has led campaigns encouraging Luton Council to recognise Windrush Day annually, and both of whose parents travelled separately from Jamaica in 1961 and 1963, said: “There has never been a more important time to remember and pay tribute to the contribution of the African-Caribbean community to our town and nationwide.

“At a time when those serving on our front line against the Covid-19 virus are disproportionately at risk, it is worth remembering that our NHS would not have survived without the Windrush Generation and its descendants.”

“We remember also the recent horror of the Windrush scandal, where the Government effectively tried to remove citizenship from the very descendants of those they had invited to help rebuild Britain after the war.

Compensation

“The fact the Government have paid almost nothing out in compensation to these families is an ongoing shame and injustice, tied up in the wider disparities highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement.”

Lorna Markland, co-founder of ACCDF, adds: “We have worked hard over many decades to see fitting recognition and respect for our African-Caribbean communities and our forefathers, and to support the local community in Luton and further afield.

“The Council have rightly supported this with an important event, which will now be an annual feature in Luton’s civic calendar.

“Younger generations are emerging as new leaders, stepping into their space to stand up and speak for their communities. We are seeing a real passing of the baton taking place, with community elders and leaders ensuring that the fuller stories of the Windrush Generation and their descendants are documented to leave a lasting legacy.

Luton Borough Council will also be showing a film produced by Lynda Howe of interviews carried out with Windrush elders on their lives and experiences since coming to England, and a Windrush Black History public quiz will also be hosted on Zoom by Richard Moseley on Monday, June 22 40 places available in total – to help include those who may not be able to attend the Town Hall in person.