Reflections from Windrush Day 2020: How does History shape our reality?

On 22nd June 2020, my fellow YHP member Ijeoma and I attended a Windrush Day celebration virtually. Amongst the speakers were Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Deputy Mayor Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Patrick Vernon OBE, Arike Oke, Chrisann Jarrett and Clive Foster.

Ijeoma introduced the Young Historians Project by discussing how the group formed and the circumstances propelling our work. Ijeoma spoke about our projects on the Black Liberation Front and African Women in the Health Sector. I thought about what I could bring to the conversation, and I decided to stress the important of learning about Black British history. It was perplexing to learn that my peers did not know about the Black Power movement in the UK, the Bristol Bus Boycott, the Mangrove Nine, the New Cross house fire, and the Race Relations Act that came a year after the US Civil Rights Act in 1964. There needs to be a whole reassessment on Black British history, and it needs to be a priority as the lack of it has shaped the illusion we have of Britain. There has been a long-lasting narrative that British racism is “subtle” and “not as bad” as other countries. This deflection mentality has been fuelled by ignorance. Skipping over Black British History and only looking at it through a colonial lens is a saturated, eurocentric and lazy narrative.

Moreover, the lack of understanding of Black British history has allowed for the appropriation of Black British culture. It’s trendy to say “wagwan” and other Caribbean phrases, but ironically the generation of post-war Caribbean migrants received guidebooks on how to be British and were encouraged to lose their accents when they came to Britain. It’s popular to attend Notting Hill Carnival but people are uncomfortable to hear about the murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1959, and are not always aware of how racism is organised from a state level. It is also not common knowledge that the first Carnival was organised by Trinidadian activist and communist Claudia Jones. The cultural weight behind language and events changes one’s perception and reality. It helps one to understand the importance of someone’s culture and history to them and how they can translate that to life to become more supportive and empathetic. Is this too much to ask for right now though? If people don’t even know about the major Black British figures and the history behind popular language and events then how could they possibly know about the history of African women in the Health Sector and their contributions, or even know where to start? This demonstrates the utter importance of YHP in fostering interest in history from a young age and diversifying the kinds of history people learn about. I hope we go further with proper resources being assigned to this pioneering research, and I hope in general that Black British history is promoted as a necessity as it certainly is.