Windrush Generation as Living History

WINDRUSH GENERATION AS LIVING HISTORY

STEPHEN SMALL WITH A PREFACE BY PAWLET BROOKES

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With special thanks to all who attended the Windrush Day Lecture.

Whilst every effort has been made to provide accurate information, Serendipity cannot accept reponsibility for any inaccuracies contained within this publication.

The views expressed in this book are those of the contributors alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced except for purposes of research, criticism and reviews, without prior permission from the contributors and publishers.

PREFACE Pawlet Brookes CEO and Artistic Director Serendipity It is our privilege and pleasure to publish Professor Stephen Small’s extended lecture Windrush Generation as a Living History is a digital publication. When we asked Stephen to deliver this lecture for Windrush Day 2020, it came as a moment of contextualisation amidst the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Brexit, the Windrush Scandal and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 which has had a particularly detrimental impact for Black communities. This moment for consideration and pause, led by Stephen’s gathering of international history alongside personal anecdotes offers a much needed reflection on the very personal impact that legislation has on everyday lives.

We take this opportunity to recognise and respect the legacy of the Windrush Generation, and the African and African Caribbean Diaspora, by documenting Stephen's lecture as part of this legacy; as a resource to support learning and unlearning. This digital publication and lecture are part of an ongoing collaboration with Professor Stephen Small, which will continue in October 2020 with the lecture Decolonising the Curriculum: Where do we Start? And forms part of Resources for Change, a collection of publications and digital resources to support anti-racist education.

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Pre-trial hearing held for police officers involved In George Floyd's death, in Minneapolis, 2020.

Photograph Stephen Maturen / Stringer.

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WINDRUSH GENERATION AS LIVING HISTORY

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Stephen Small, PhD Professor of African American Studies University of California, Berkeley It is a very difficult time in England right now, with the continuing public health crisis, as well the haphazard, inconsistent and incompetent responses by the government.

The threat of Brexit and its potential economic damage looms large. The recent protests in America after the senseless killing of George Floyd by the police have struck a nerve in England, and remind us once again of similar violence against Black men and women committed by the police here. The ongoing pain and trauma inflicted upon the Windrush generation and their children has been especially intense. But we have taken inspiration and energy from the unprecedented worldwide protests for racial justice. And it’s in this context that we’re here today – to speak about the Windrush Generation.

I can tell you that I am a child of the Windrush Generation myself – my father arrived in England from Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1947, met my mother and they both remained in Liverpool for the rest of their lives. His brother and sister followed him to England in the early 1950s, and three of his brothers went to America. And after spending more than 25 years in England, my sister Carmen, along with her husband and children migrated to Canada, and have remained in North America ever since. A pattern similar to many West Indian families and another component of the British West Indian Diaspora. As one can tell from my Scouse accent, I was born and raised in Liverpool, and have lived in several others cities in England, including Leicester where I lived for three years in the 1990s. The majority of my family still lives in England. Currently I am a professor of African Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley but that’s just one dimension of my life. The insights and perspectives that I will share with you today are drawn from my personal and professional experiences outside the university, working with Black organisations and multi-racial communities across Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

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This is the Windrush Day lecture June 22, 2020, that I delivered for Serendipity, Leicester. It has been revised from the actual presentation text of the day, into this written version. The main revisions include further examples and citations to sources. Further information on issues in the text can be obtained from Professor Stephen Small – small@berkeley.edu. My sincere thanks to several colleagues and friends that provided very useful feedback on a draft of the initial presentation including Oyinkansola Ojo-Aromokudu, Dean Huggins, Kwame Nimako, Angela Lintz-Small, Yvonne Lawrence, Caine Lewin-Turner, Robert Connell and Sonia Isaacs.

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As we all know, the Windrush Generation refers to the independent, proud and dignified men, women and children that came to England in the 1940s and beyond, to save the Mother Country from its economic plight. Specifically, it refers to those 2 West Indians that arrived on the Empire Windrush in 1948 . It also includes tens of thousands of West Indians from Antigua, Barbuda and Barbados, from Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent, people that arrived in the following decades; it includes thousands of West Indians that had lived here in two world wars; as well as thousands of Africans – and others – that arrived during the same period. And the Windrush Generation includes people like me, born and raised in England.

We are here at the invitation of Serendipity today to acknowledge and celebrate the Windrush Generation; to recognise their contributions, to acknowledge their humanity, and to confront the racism, xenophobia and hostility that they have faced and continue to face. They are visible today because of the hostile environment policies of Home Secretary Theresa May; the incompetence and lies of Home Secretary Amber Rudd; the shallow and superficial assurances of Home Secretary Priti Patel; and because of the indifference and inaction of so many other government officials and elected representatives. It’s the direct actions of government that have caused the unnecessary pain and suffering experienced, and that continues to wreak havoc in people’s lives. These agonising experiences have been compounded by tragedies like the devastating fire in Grenfell, and everyday racism in housing, employment and education.

I believe strongly that we must confront the racism and inhumanity directly, unequivocally and without mincing words. Racism, arrogance, incompetence and neglect have caused entirely unnecessary anxiety and despair, entirely undeserved pain and suffering; as well as economic catastrophe, permanent bad 3 health, and fatalities that could so easily have been avoided . Men, women and children were denied access to life-saving hospital treatment for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and other problems; denied access to money for food, essential goods and rent; they’ve lost their jobs, their homes, and been separated from family members. They have been forced into detention camps like criminals, even though they never committed a single crime; and forced onto planes and sent to nations they have never visited since childhood.

So many government officials are clearly guilty of lying, incompetence and ineptitude, guilty of haughtiness and neglect, or destroying and hiding documents.

And it hasn’t ended yet. Arrogance and incompetence continue to plague the Windrush Generation, including protracted delays and the complete failure or refusal to pay compensation. For example, as recently as the last week of May 2020, Home secretary Patel proudly boasted that the government had paid out £350,000 in compensation. What she failed to mention was the money went to a tiny number of the victims (less than 200 people); that many received paltry and insulting amounts of compensation; and that there was still an estimated £200

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to £500 million yet to be paid out . Some officials have been forced to admit their mistakes, some have even apologised; yet many others refuse to do so, or try to palm us off with platitudes, euphemisms or trite excuses. Even today, we still don’t know when it will all end. So, we persevere. While our hearts still grieve for the continuing anguish.

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Now, I don’t want to spend all my time today on the deficiencies of government officials. That could take more than a while! Instead, I want to turn to something more reassuring and more productive. Again, I want to recognise the humanity and dignity of the Windrush Generation. And I want to remind them, and everyone here, of the indispensable, inestimable and irreversible value and contributions that they have made and continue to make to this country.

First of all, let’s remember that the Windrush Generation came here at the direct invitation of the British government; to meet Britain’s economic needs and help the country rebuild after the devastation of war . They answered the call immediately and unhesitatingly. And I can speak to that personally. One day, long ago, when I was a teenager, during the misery and gloom of a northern winter, I asked my father, somewhat incredulously, why in the name of anything good had he abandoned the sunny beaches and delicious food of Jamaica to put me in the rainy, dreary weather of Liverpool, eating fish and chips. I came, he said, because I saw an advert in the Jamaica newspaper – ‘THE MOTHER COUNTRY NEEDS YOU!’ I came, he said, because I grew up believing I was British. I came, he said, because I wanted to give my family and children better opportunities. And I came, he said, because I thought I would be treated decently and respectfully. Instead, he said, it took only a few weeks in England to dispel those myths and I realised I was in for 6 the struggle of my life .

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It’s not commonly known that the HMT Windrush (Her Majesty’s Transport) – was initially named MV Monte Rosa and was a German ship from Hamburg in the 1930s. There are photos and some exhibits about the ship before it became HMT Windrush in the ‘Internationales Maritimes Museum’ in Hamburg, which I visited in 2018, while doing research on museums and legacies of colonialism across Black Europe.

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Numerous television programmes, press articles and online writing have documented these issues, and conveyed insights that are sure to bring tears to your eyes.

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At the time of writing this updated version of the presentation, in August, 2020, the vast majority of Windrush claimants had not received any compensation.

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See EJB Rose and Associates – 'Colour and Citizenship. A Report on British Race Relations', 1969.

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We have testimony from thousands of West Indian immigrants in that period who arrived with hope and confidence and pride, yet faced the same hostility, indignities and humiliation. See Trevor Phillips and Mike Phillips – 'Windrush. The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain', 2009. There are many biographies and stories from West Indians of that time - people like Claudia May, John La Rose, Darcus Howe, Linton Kwesi Johnson as well as celebrities like Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe. See Kennetta Hammond Perry – ‘London is the Place for Me’, 2015. And we also have many accounts from ordinary men, women and children that just lived their lives outside the national limelight. See, for example, the documentary produced Serendipity entitled 'A Very Brit(ish) Voice', 2020. A compelling tale of this period can be found in the film Blacks Britannica, easily available on line.

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Men, women and children from the Caribbean arrive at Southampton, 1962.

Photograph Tim Ring / Alamy Stock Photo.

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Second, I want to remind everyone that the Windrush Generation’s contribution to Britain has been extensive, profound and overwhelmingly beneficial. They tried to tell us that they were doing us a favour by encouraging us to come here; but the truth is that they needed us, they benefited from us, and unfortunately, they 7 exploited us too . Before the Windrush scandal, the Government had begun, somewhat reluctantly, to acknowledge some of our contributions. It was difficult to deny our obvious and immeasurable assistance in saving and reinvigorating the NHS, British Rail and London Transport. They could not deny the contribution we’ve made in music, singing and entertainment; nor in sport, especially football and athletics. The UK would not have even half or a quarter of the international medals and championships we currently have if not for the Windrush Generation. So, their recognition is good and the very least they can do.

But today, I insist that the tremendous contributions we’ve made in those areas – as valuable as they are - actually are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. That the British government – and British people more generally - still dramatically underestimate the full extent and depth of our contributions. Yes, we were employed in the National Health Service, British Rail, and London transport, as nurses, bus conductors and ticket collectors. In those roles, we saved lives, reduced pain, increased economic production, and created jobs. But even in those industries we did far more than that. We also worked in engineering and maintenance, in skilled labour and supervisory positions, and we rose to senior and management levels. Not as much as we deserved – the discrimination has never stopped, even today – but far more than anyone has acknowledged. In music, performance and entertainment we did far more than sing and dance. We wrote songs, musicals and plays; we directed and managed productions. We worked as technicians, producers, innovators and creators. We crafted costumes, invented new fashions and designed stages for theatre. In sport, we weren’t just sprinters, jumpers and football players. We were also coaches, health and medical assistants, managers and directors.

We contributed in so many other ways too, far beyond these arenas. On construction sites, building houses, schools and factories; we were service workers, technicians and specialists and, as technology moved on, our children and grandchildren operated computers or designed software. We worked in the press and on television, in creative art and design. We joined the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Airforce. And we joined the police. The Windrush Generation built and led churches too, attending to the spiritual as well as the social and material life of communities.

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Estimates vary on how many British men died – in military battles, and as civilians – but the numbers are certainly in the hundreds of thousands.

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And that’s not all. What many people still don’t realise is that the Windrush Generation worked in schools, colleges and universities, in museums and art galleries, doing manual work, skilled work, professional work, and as experts and consultants. We were administrators and managers. We worked at all levels of 8 teaching, from assistants to head teachers . And when they wouldn’t let us have those jobs, we set up Saturday and supplementary schools where we did everything. We were small in number but we had a big impact. We’ve diversified the curriculum in 1001 ways and we’ve made British education more accurate, more 9 inclusive and more comprehensive . And this is true, despite the limitations of the national curriculum; because it’s still far better today than if we had not been here.

Courses of study at colleges and universities are better too, because of us – critical race theory, post-colonial and decolonial courses; including some courses that examine Black women’s lives and the combined effects of racism and sexism. Black women have always known what the hostile environment means; they didn’t have 10 to wait for Theresa May to declare it . Even though we have so few university lecturers, professors and intellectuals, they have had an overwhelming impact on education in UK; and they continue to do so. Besides, this is not Black history just for Black people in Black History Month. This is British history, the colonisation of Africa, of what became America and the West Indies; the growth and expansion of the British Empire.

And its European history too, when we look at the substantial involvement in slavery and imperialism of Portugal and Spain, France, Belgium and Germany. And so many other Western European nations too, many of whom assert complete innocence, despite the fact that they were deeply complicit and duplicitous in slavery and imperialism. For example, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are typically absent from discussion of slavery and its legacies but they were actively involved for hundreds of years as producers and consumers. For example, during slavery they supplied and exported massive amounts of timber to build ships in Liverpool and Amsterdam, iron ore to make guns and chains in Birmingham, as well as fish, cereals and grains to feed the British population. During imperialism, it was more timber, iron ore and copper, as well as beef, pork and milk, industrial and domestic durable goods and maritime products. During both periods they were also consumers of sugar, coffee and cotton produced by millions of enslaved people across the Americas. Nordic nations were not only important but actually indispensable to transatlantic slavery and the colonisation of Africa. But we have heard little or nothing about them, until recently. In terms of knowledge about these issues, we are still scraping the surface. It’s not a matter of what about the half that has never been told – because its far worse than that – but more like what 11 about the 95% that has never been told!

In other words, we have expanded the scope of coverage and made British historians question the very foundations of their knowledge, research and arguments. We have made British education more accurate, more widespread in

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its focus and more encompassing than a focus on elite white men. We are not where we need to be just yet, so we continue to push them to investigate topics and issues - for example, resistance and rebellion rather than abolition – that don’t simply make Britain look good. I can tell you for a fact, that my own education was 12 dramatically enhanced by reading work by or about the Windrush Generation .

And the first Black Studies Bachelors’ degree in the whole of Europe, at Birmingham City University exists because of the Windrush Generation.

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See Derek Burnett - Millennium People. The Soul of Success, 1999. This book provides an early and compelling overview and profiles of some of the highest Black women and main achievers in Britain. Mr. Burnett graciously included me in the book, as the first Black man in Liverpool to earn a PhD. He was building on the work of people like Arif Ali, whose book 'Third World Impact’ , 1984 (Sixth Edition, org. 1973) covered the achievements at various levels of all people of colour in Great Britain.

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Just look at the wide range of books by Hakim Adi, including Hakim Adi – West Africans in Britain, 1900-1960, 1998; Hakim Adi, The History of the African and Caribbean Communities in Britain, 2005. He has multiple journal articles and book chapters too. Books like ‘Many Struggles’ and like ‘Pastor Daniels Ekarte’, by Marika Sherwood are invaluable. As are books by Ray Costello, like ‘Black Liverpool: The Early History of Britain's Oldest Black Community, 1730-1918’, 2001; Given the nature of sexism in British society and education, we know far less about women than men but there are some signs that is changing, even if the pace seem glacial. The groundbreaking book ‘The Heart of the Race’ by Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe, 1985, on Black women, is a classic. There is an entire new generation of writers, producing not just books and articles, but essays, memoirs, blogs and a vast array of online material. And we have tens of thousands more documents waiting to be analyzed, in the Black Cultural Archives in and Black organisations and community groups around the nation.

10. We have good basic information on the obstacles confronting Black women - see ‘The Heart of the Race’ by Beverley

Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe, 1985; Julia Sudbury – 'Other Kinds of Dreams', 1998; Diana Watt and Adele Jones, 'Catching Hell and Doing Well. Black Women in the UK - The Abasindi Collective', 2015. See also Akwugo Emejulu and Francesca Sobande – 'To Exist is to Resist. Black Feminism in Europe', 2019.

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Given the reluctance of these nations to recognise the full extent of their role in slavery and imperialism – or even to acknowledge that they played any role at all – it’s not surprising that there are few or no books on the topic. But a good start for these processes, and especially their legacies, is Michael McEachrane – 'Afro-Nordic Landscapes. Equality and Race in Northern Europe', 2014.

12. The ground-breaking book, 'Black Britain', 1973 by Chris Mullard still remains powerful, turning our attention

fundamentally away from immigrants to citizens. This was a very powerful message, and what we academics call a fundamental conceptual and epistemological reorientation. Recognising ourselves as citizens, rather than as immigrants, contrary to the way British governments and white people loved to label us, was especially resonant for people like me, born and bred in Liverpool, the city with the nation’s longest-standing Black population. See Ian Law and June Henfry, 'A History of Race and Racism in Liverpool, 1660-1950', 1981. 'The Empire Strikes Back. Race and Racism in 70s Britain', by scholar at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, 1982. Given that there were so few books, I also read editions of journals and magazines like Race Today. I read a lot of books by non-Blacks too, like Kenneth Little’s ‘Negroes in Britain’, 1948, Sheila Patterson’s ‘Dark Strangers’, 1963, John Rex and Robert Moore - 'Race, Community and Conflict', 1967. Many of them were highly problematic - as you can tell from the book titles – and worse. But they remain useful for descriptive information – even if it makes your skin-crawl - of the who, what, when, where and why of some aspects of Black peoples’ lives in that period. I also read some books by non-Blacks that were quite good, for example, Robert Miles and Annie Phizacklea’s ‘White Man’s Country’, 1984.

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So many museums are far better too, because of the Windrush Generation; less 13 elitist and obscure, more inclusive, more accurate and more comprehensive too .

We no longer have so many one-dimensional, self-aggrandising stories of what England’s elite white men have achieved for the empire through conquest, war and government. And far more accurate and extensive evaluations of the bias of 14 earlier exhibits . Just go to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, to see that narrative demolished. And Black History Month – which should be Black History Year, every year – has enlightened, educated and developed the minds of millions of people in this country, Black and non-Black, West Indian and non-West 15 Indian .

And there’s more. Far more. More fundamental, more deep-seated, more longlasting, but still less obvious. The Windrush Generation has transformed Britain to make it a far better nation for fairness and social justice, equal opportunities and democracy. We joined trade unions, attended labour clubs, increased voting and political representation; we worked to elect progressive and open-minded MPS 16 and councillors . We worked in citizens advice bureaus, immigrant aide centres, refuges for women and children, and people being persecuted by the police.

We’ve been indispensable in a whole range of nonprofit organisations.

Members of Liverpool Black Sisters protest at Derby Square, 1980s.

Photograph © Liverpool Black Sisters/Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre.

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And when discrimination kept us out, we set up groups and associations, often multi-racial associations, to improve work conditions, organise protest and save individual lives. And once again, it goes without saying, that it’s the women of the Windrush Generation that were - and remain still - the majority in all these organisations.

In other words, because of us, the legal system has been changed for the better; because of us, far more people have greater awareness of their rights at work than ever before. Because of us, far more people know their legal rights than ever before. Because of us, far more people vote now than ever before.

Because of us there is more social justice in England than ever before. And because of us, parliament is more diverse – not just racially and ethnically – but in terms of the white working class, women and people from a range of other nonBlack communities.

One more thing, just as important, just as profound, and again not so obvious. Not long after the Windrush Generation began arriving in Britain, people from Martinique and Guadeloupe arrived in France, and people from Suriname, 17 Curacao and Aruba arrived in the Netherlands .

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More and more Africans from across the continent arrived in those nations, and others, like Portugal, Germany, Spain and Italy, too – joining long-established but 18 much smaller Black families and sometimes communities already in these nations .

In other words, the nations of Western Europe have their own Windrush Generations. They have had similar experiences to ours, and similar fights against racism, xenophobia and discrimination. Like us, they are still fighting today. But they don’t have the same historical legacy that we have, and European nations have different national cultures and institutions. And of course, different forms of 19 obstruction and intransigence when it comes to social change .

What this means is that vast numbers of Black people and organisations across Western Europe look to our communities in Britain for information and insights, for curricula development and museums, for history, social mobilisation and for inspiration. We can find examples in the Netherlands, France and Germany; in Belgium, Portugal and Italy; and in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

13. See Carol Dixon – ‘Four women, for women. Caribbean Diaspora artists reimag(in)ing the fine art cannon', in African and

Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 2020. Jessica Moody and I’ve written several articles on these issues – see Stephen Small - ‘Slavery, Colonialism and the Transformation of Museum Representations in Great Britain: Old and New Circuits of Migration’, Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 2011; Stephen Small‘Contextualizing the Black Presence in British Museums: Representations, Resources and Response’ in E. H. Greenhill (editor.) Museums and Multiculturalism in Britain, 1997. See also, Kwame Nimako and Stephen Small 'Collective Memory of Slavery in Great Britain and The Netherlands', in Marten Schalkwijk and Stephen Small (editors) 'New Perspectives on Slavery and Colonialism in the Caribbean', 2012.

14. Annie Coombes - 'Reinventing Africa. Museums, Material Culture and Popular Imagination in Late Victorian and

Edwardian England', 1994; Katie, Donington, Ryan Hanley, and Jessica Moody, (editors) 'Britain’s History and Memory of Transatlantic Slavery: Local Nuances of a ‘National Sin’', 2016; Madge Dresser and Andrew Hann, eds., 'Slavery and the British Country House', 2013.

15. According to what I read, the origin of Black History Month in Britain is attributed to Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, who is not

West Indian, but was born in Africa. Simply a reminder of the ways in which Africa and the African Diaspora has always worked together.

16. Harry Gouldbourne, (editor), 'Black Politics in Britain', 1990.

17. For France see Trica Keaton, 'Black France/France-Noire. The history and Politics of Blackness', 2012 (co-written with T

Denean Sharpley-Whiting and Tyler Stovall); and Felix Germain – 'Decolonizing the Republic', 2016 – who highlights the experiences and political activities of working-class Black men and women. For The Netherlands see Kwame Nimako and Glen Willemsen, 'The Dutch Atlantic', 2011.

18. I have lived and worked in many of these nations, and I read and speak several relevant languages. There is far more

writing by and about Black people in England than in any of these other nations. But some good examples include for Germany see Fatima El Tayeb - 'European Others. Queering Ethnicity in Postnational Europe', 2011. For Spain, see the publications and website by Antumi Toasijé; for Italy see Jacqueline Andall - 'Gender, Migration, and Domestic Service: The Politics of Black Women in Italy', 2000. For an overview of what Black people across western Europe share in common – beside all the obvious differences, see my book – '20 Questions and Answers on Black Europe', 2018.

19. Yes, we Black people in Britain know that the British Government, businesses and senior educational leaders don’t like to

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talk about racism, especially institutional racism. But we forced them to do so. So, in England we have had a whole series of Race Relations Acts, Equal Opportunities programmes, and multiple programmes on multi-culturalism and social cohesion. It has not been enough to achieve equality of opportunity, let alone equality of outcome. But we have far more of these acts and agencies than pretty much the whole of the rest of Western Europe combined. The limitations of efforts to tackle racism in Western Europe is described in Darlene Clark Hine, Trica Danielle Keaton and Stephen Small – 'Black Europe and the African Diaspora', 2009. See also my books, '20 Questions and Answers on Black Europe', 2018. My research and insights on Black Europe emerged from my involvement in the Black Europe Summer School, a two-week intensive programme in Amsterdam, founded in 2007 by Kwame Nimako. This programmes focuses on racism, citizenship, rights and social justice, rather than on immigrants, assimilation, tolerance and gratitude. See the programmes website.

Recruitment officer for London Transport, with some early applicants in Barbados, 1956.

Photograph Charles Gomm, courtesy of London Transport Museum. © TfL from the London Transport Museum collection

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We have introduced and forced discussions on questions like how to diversify the curriculum and teach Black history; how to increase Black representation in Parliament, and the senior levels of industry and technology; how to establish and expand Black History Month; how to secure serious roles for actors and directors in film and television; and how to develop Black women’s organisations and international exchanges to recognise and truly value what Black women have achieved. And I say ‘forced’ because it really irritates me today to hear some museum staff and university professors boast about the progressive steps they have made in exhibits and post-colonial studies; as if they did it on their own initiative and drive. But the truth is that some of them only came along kicking and screaming – including allegations of reverse racism – until we dragged them to where they are today. I know this, I saw it and I lived it. I have also written about this in several 20 publications . But you don’t have to take my word for it – look at writings by Chris 21 Mullard, Professor Gus John, Stuart Hall . Read Amina Mama – The Hidden Struggle. Statutory and Voluntary Sector Responses to Violence against Black Women, 1985, Heidi Mirza – Black British Feminism, 1997, or the book chapter, 22 ‘White Women Listen’ by Hazel Carby or ‘The System’ by Herman Ouseley . And see Winston James and Clive Harris - Inside Babylon. The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain, 1993, with chapters by Amina Mama and Claudette Williams. Len Garrison 23 also worked tirelessly against such obstacles . So, has Linda Bellos. Many of them have been around far longer than me, and faced far bigger obstacles.

In all these arenas and more, Black people across Western Europe are borrowing from our initiatives and accomplishments in England. The obstacles they’ve faced are not entirely the same, and they know we don’t have all the answers. But they also recognise that they share striking similarities with our experiences, and that the tactics, strategies and mobilisation we’ve developed can benefit them greatly. In other words, the fact is that so much of what the Windrush Generation has done for the UK, has become an important model – the leading model - for Black communities, multi-racial communities, across Western Europe.

20. Stephen Small 'Concepts and Terminology in Representations of the Atlantic Slave Trade', Museum Ethnographers

Journal, 1994; Stephen Small, 'The General Legacy of the Atlantic Slave Trade' in Tony Tibbles, (editor), Transatlantic Slavery. Against Human Dignity, Merseyside Maritime Museum, 1994.

21. Chris Mullard – 'Black Britain', 1973; Gus John – 'Take a Stand', 2006: Stuart Hall – 'Policing the Crisis. Mugging, the State and Law and Order', 1978.

22. The chapter can be found in ‘The Empire Strikes Back. Race and Racism in 70s Britain’, CCCS, 1982.

23. The Black Cultural Archives in London would not exist today if not for Len Garrison’s monumental and sustained efforts in the 1970s and 1980s. His contributions are fully recognised at BCA. He died tragically in 2003 before he could see the fullness of his work. But his memory lives on with us. He wrote 'Black Youth Rastafarianism and Identity Crisis in Britain', 1985.

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Men, women and children from the Caribbean arrive at Southampton, 1962.

Photograph Tim Ring / Alamy Stock Photo.

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Now I suspect that many people in the audience may not know all these things, about England or Europe; but I know them personally, face to face and first-hand.

I teach in several different programs in Europe every year; I have lived for years 24 and carried out research in multiple nations across Europe ; I have worked with organisations or groups in Black communities in these nations and I speak several 25 languages . What I say may be a surprise to many people, and some people may doubt it. I suspect if I was giving this lecture live and in person, I would see doubt in your faces. And I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you because British education, media, museums, and British politicians have not yet researched, documented, published or recognised the full contributions of the Windrush Generation.

But anyone with common sense that looks at Britain in the 1940s and compares it with Britain today will see that everything I’m saying is true. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. They’ll see it with their own eyes. In sum, the Windrush Generation has massively transformed institutions, greatly diversified education, vastly broadened minds and enormously expanded horizons. And the singing, dancing and cooking has made everyone a lot happier, too! And by the way, did I mention the Caribbean carnival! Not just in London, but in cities across the entire nation?

Let me end with two final points. The Windrush Generation has suffered unforgivable acts of indifference, incompetence and neglect – much of it directly and indirectly caused by racism – and its especially painful to know that what they have gone through was neither necessary nor inevitable. We must acknowledge and confront all of this. But we should not allow it to dominate our lives or dictate our actions. And we must find ways to resist a descent into lingering despair. We must continue to confront injustice and find ways to continue to live our lives. And we will do this with the love and support of our families, friends and communities.

I can’t guarantee an end to the immediate problems that the Windrush Generation is facing right now; and I’m in no position to promise that you will be fully compensated. Those things are outside my control. But I hope you can find some relief in knowing that you have fundamentally transformed Britain for the better; some comfort in knowing that your contributions will be fully acknowledged and valued; and some reassurance in knowing that there are organisations like Serendipity and so many others across the nation, fighting to ensure that your legacy is fully recognised and commemorated. That your experiences will not be lost to history, but will echo over generations.

This is your living history. I can guarantee that to you. And that is my message today.

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Toxteth Carnival, Liverpool, 1986.

Courtesy of Liverpool Echo.

24. I have been a faculty member of the Black Europe Summer School in Amsterdam every year since it began in 2007, and

have had the benefit of interacting with more than 350 participants working on Black Europe from 20+ nations. I was Visiting Professor in the Department of History at the University of Amsterdam, 2010-2015; I lived in Madrid, Spain from 2013-2015, where I was director of the University of California Study Abroad Program, responsible for 500 students living in Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, Cadiz and Granada. I visited these cities multiple times each year. In 2002-2004, I lived in Bordeaux, and worked in Bordeaux and Toulouse as director of the University of California Study Abroad program. I was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France in 2002. I have done short periods of applied research or teaching in Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. And I have spoken or attended conferences in Italy, Portugal and Finland. Yes, I go to Europe often, because I don’t have the same attitude to Europe that so many of my countrymen – and countrywomen - seem to have. And I’m not sure that I fully understand what the Brexit thing is all about, to tell the truth, Ruth!

25. I read, speak and write French, Spanish and Portuguese. I believe I can handle myself in these languages pretty well; but what I call pretty well, the people I work with say I am fluent. Who am I to disagree with the opinions of first-language speakers. And I suppose it’s all a matter of opinion, right?

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STEPHEN SMALL Stephen Small, Ph.D. is Professor of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the African Diaspora, and on Public History and Collective Memory of slavery. He teaches courses on race, class and gender, globalisation, and the African Diaspora. He has held visiting positions in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Brazil. He was director of Education Abroad Programs in France and in Spain and Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam. He was born and raised in Liverpool, and currently lives in the USA.

SERENDIPITY Serendipity is an internationally connected arts and heritage organisation that actively changes the UK artistic and cultural landscape with an innovative and inspiring high-quality programme. Serendipity fosters innovative new work from artists, both emerging and established, bringing diversity to the forefront of cultural experiences for all. www.serendipity-uk.com

RESOURCES FOR CHANGE A collection of resources to support anti-racist education, with direct reference to Black British history, Black dance, arts and culture. www.serendipity-uk.com/resources-for-change

PODCAST WITH STEPHEN SMALL To follow this essay, why not listen to Stephen Small in conversation with Pawlet Brookes, he discusses growing up with a Black father and white mother in Liverpool, institutional racism, the long long history of people of Black people in Britain, the Windrush scandal, and more. www.serendipity-uk.com/a-dialogue-with-masters

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Mr Alvin Small.

Courtesy of Stephen Small.

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