LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will hold a series of events, processions and displays on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first migrants from the Caribbean, paying tribute to the cultural contribution of the so-called ” Windrush generation”.
On June 22, 1948, the ship Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex, east London, bringing the first of hundreds of thousands who came to Britain between 1948 and 1971 to help rebuild the country after the Second World War.
Celebrations will begin on these same quays, with a steel band, dancing and street food, before events later today across the country, including a procession in Brixton, the southern region of London where many migrants have taken up residence.
“The UK is an infinitely better place, a more dynamic, more diverse and more exciting place thanks to these pioneers of the Windrush generation,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told LBC Radio on Thursday.
Many events will also recognize the biases that Windrush arrivals and their descendants have had to overcome.
Those who came on Windrush, a German-built ship that the British captured as a prize of war and renamed after an English river, spent their first nights in London sleeping deep underground in a shelter under the tube station Clapham South.
They then found jobs in the National Health Service or in public transport, but many were victims of racism, with discrimination continuing to the present day in some areas of life.
In 2018, Britain apologized for its “appalling” handling of the Windrush generation, after a tougher immigration policy meant thousands were denied their basic rights as they had lived in Britain for decades, and dozens were wrongfully deported.
Organizers of the event said the 75th anniversary was seen as a time to reflect on this wrongdoing, as well as to celebrate the contribution of migrants to British society.
King Charles has commissioned 10 portraits of 10 members of the Windrush Generation as part of the celebrations. These will go on display at Buckingham Palace later this year.
“It is, I believe, of crucial importance that we can really see and hear those pioneers who left the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in June 1948,” he said.
There will also be a service at Southwark Cathedral in London to honor the arrivals, while the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is hosting exhibitions, talks and events to commemorate the anniversary.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, additional reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Sharon Singleton)