Windrush 75

Windrush 75 Hosted by Glenda Ceasar of The National Windrush Organisation Music by David Rodigan Calvin Francis Fatman Special Touch Studio Express Saxon Motion Gal Flex 5th Avenue Dlux

Black News Black News
May 21, 2023 - 16:32 Updated: May 21, 2024 - 15:31
2
Windrush 75
Windush 75
Windrush 75
  • BROUGHT TO YOU BY BLACK LIVES MATTER FESTIVAL AND SPONSORED BY BLACK NEWS UK 
 WINDRUSH 75  
 WINDRUSH DAY
 WINDRUSH SQ 
The British Caribbean Community come together on the 22 of June 2023 after 75 years at the POW CLUB WINDRUSH SQUARE BRIXTON for this seminal EVENT
to both celebrate and commemerate the great sacrifices and acheivements of the  Windrush Generation.
Windush 75 Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury on the 22 of June 1948. The ships arrival 75 years ago marked a seminal moment in Britains history.
Those who arrived on the Empire
Windrush, their decendants, and those who followed them, have made and continue to make an enormous contribution to Britain, not just in the vital work of rebuilding the country and public services following WW1, but in enriching our shared social, economic, cutural, and religious life.
COMING TOGETHER TO BRING YOU THIS SEMINAL EVENT ARE....
The Windrush National Organisation represented by our HONURABLE guest speaker GLENDA CEASAR

Glenda arrived with her mother in the UK in 1961 from Dominica ‘as a babe in arms’. She first found out she wasn’t British and could not get a passport after trying to visit her dying mother in the Caribbean in 1998. In 2009, Glenda was sacked from her part-time job as a GP practice administrator because she wasn’t considered ‘British’.

She became a victim of the British government’s ‘hostile Environment’. Unable to work or claim benefits for the following 10 years, she was forced to rely on her children for support. The Home Office scandal was uncovered by the British News Media in 2018.

DJ DAVID RODIGAN MBE

For over 40 years David Rodigan has been the top dog in the ganja-scented, bass heavy-atmosphere
of Britain’s reggae dance-halls. The key to his success has been an unsinkable passion for reggae
music, which first took a hold of him as a schoolboy when he heard ska music in the early ’60s. He
developed an obsession with the music of Jamaica that generated an encyclopaedic knowledge of
the island’s every artist, every song and every rhythm track.
His earliest experience of dee jaying was during lunch breaks once a week in the gym at Gosford Hill
School in Kidlington, Oxford. On leaving school he landed a place at the Rose Bruford College of
Speech and Drama in 1971, where he spent three years studying to become an actor. He worked
extensively in repertory theatre and appeared in a number of television productions such as ‘Doctor
Who’ (BBC) and ‘Shackleton’ (BBC); he also performed his one-man show ‘Zima Junction’ at literature
festivals and theatres in the 1970s; a dramatisation of the poem by the Russian writer Yevtushenko.
Rodigan began his reggae broadcasting career in 1978 on BBC Radio London. He moved to Capital
Radio in 1979 and remained there for eleven years broadcasting his legendary ‘Roots Rockers’ show
every Saturday night. His credibility was ensured when he began clashing with Jamaica’s champion
DJ, Barry G on JBC Radio in Jamaica. He then went on to clash with all the top Jamaican sound sys-
tems in the West Indies, the USA and England.
In 1984 he joined BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Corp) where broadcast his weekly reggae show
for 25 years until 2009.
In 1990 he joined the newly legalised Kiss 100 where he presented a variety of daytime shows for 10
years, followed by a decade in his evening specialist slot. When his show was pushed back to the
small hours in a programming reshuffle, David took a bold stance, protesting against the marginalisa-
tion of reggae music before leaving the station in a dramatic media frenzy in 2012. A day later the
BBC came calling and signed David. For the last 3 years he has remarkably straddled two different
worlds, broadcasting every Sunday evening on BBC 1Xtra to a largely youthful audience, whilst host-
ing his Summer Series on BBC Radio 2 on Tuesdays.
In 2006 he was inducted into the Sony Radio Academy Hall Of Fame. He also won the Sony Radio
Academy Gold Award for ‘Best Specialist Music Programme’ in 2009 for his Sunday night Kiss Show
‘Rodigan’s Reggae’ and a Silver Award in 2014 for his Radio 2 Summer Series.
He plays his unique collection of customised dub plates and classic recordings extensively across the
globe from New York to Tokyo, Berlin to Kingston Jamaica to loyal reggae fans of all ages.
2012 was a truly vintage year for David. In Jan he was awarded an MBE for his services to broadcast-
ing, in April he took home the World Cup Clash title in Queens NYC, and in May he was awarded his
forth Sony Gold Award for his superb 13 part series on BBC Radio 2. 2012 also saw the launch of his
'Ram Jam' events brand, with David hosting numerous festival tents across Europe.
2014 saw David join forces with platinum selling act Chase & Status and the legendary Shy FX, under
the collective name Rebel Sound, competing in the Red Bull Music Culture Clash at Earls Court infront
of 25,000 fans plus another 2million streaming the event from the comfort of their own homes. Rebel
Sound won the clash comprehensively and trended #1 on Twitter worldwide and were quickly invited
to headline Reading & Leeds festival in 2015.
Since then David has continued his relentless touring schedule across the globe, headlining stages at
festivals including Parklife, Glastonbury, Bestival, Outlook and Snowbombing whilst juggling two ra-
dio shows on BBC 1Xtra and BBC Radio 2.
2017 saw the release of David’s critically and commercially acclaimed autobiography ‘Rodigan My
Life In Reggae’ which became a #1 Amazon Best Seller and was nominated for Rough Trade Book Of
The Year.
2018 see’s David celebrate his 40th Anniversary in the music business. A remarkable achievement
marked by a global world tour and a unique project involving the Outlook Orchestra. David together
with the 25-piece sold out the Royal Festival Hall in a staggering 25 minutes, and summer 2018 will
see David and the Outlook Orchestra perform on main-stages across festival season.
Rodigan doesn’t stop. And he doesn’t want to either. A true legend and British music icon.

www.rodigan.com

We will also be joined by 

CALVIN FRANCIS MI-SOUL

STUDIO EXPRESS

SPECIAL TOUCH

FATMAN

SAXON MOTION

GAL FLEX

5th AVENUE 

DLUX

SO COME AND JOIN US ALL ON THE 22 OF JUNE 2023 IN BRIXTON FOR THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME WINDRUSH 75 FUND RAISING EVENT FOR THE WINDRUSH NATIONAL ORGANISATION  FOR A CELEBRATION LIKE NO OTHER CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO BUY YOUR EARLY BIRD ETHICAL TICKETS 

https://tktp.as/EPTISH

PLEASE NOTE VENUE POLICY; THIS IS AN ID ONLY EVENT

NO ID NO ADDMITANCE.

www.blacknews.uk

www.blacklivesmatterfestival.com

https://windrushnationalorganisation.com/

Let's take a look back to where we are now....
                                                                                 WINDRUSH 75
                                                                  
Some Caribbeans would have laid their coats over a puddle for the white British people they met and most thought they were a prosperous and good people, as that’s the impression the ones who came to Jamaica and stood on boxes to recruit them gave.
But many found on their arrival that England was not the beautiful haven paved with gold and prosperity!
Indeed it was COLD the houses were alll stuck together, the poverty and deprivation was more than some had ever witnessed!
And a new thing called racism created a feeling of contempt which permeated from the streets like a ghost everyone sees but won’t admit to!
Indeed for some everywhere, they looked was a reminder of their forefathers enchained sufferings and death, for  the  needs wants and pleasures of these what seemed a never satisfied people's?
From slavery to colonisation the ghost was celebrated and flowed  through their archaic queen's fairytale palaces into  the walls and columns of power, and onto the entitled sci-vies in parliament that all weald advantage not through ability but through birth and old money in this subversive utilitarian system.
A constant reminder helping us to never forget those many who suffered. survived and died for those on the statues and street names all around us, and for such outdated obverse ideologies!
So what did the 1st generation bring on the Wind-in the Rush?
Energy hard work amazing diversity and a vibrant community!
From propping up the NHS with Nurses and Drs brain draining the  youth of our own countries in doing so, supporting the Transport system with drivers mechanics engineers and so much more.
 
We still found the time to contribute to them a little fashion, music and sporting champions to name a few plus's 
 
With style and ease we created lovers rock soul rnb garage jungle drum n base grime and we still on the drill!
Quite frankly whatever cultural or urban styles , scenes or genres that have taken place since our arrival?
Have been pretty much lead by us.
While we still found the time to feed them with our traditional dishes such as rice & peas, curry goat oxtail ,even a likkle patty!
 
So what did we find here?
Well we left a land where faith was our guidance and stealing cheating lying drunkenness, divorce, single parents knife crime robbery prostitution on this scale was unbeknown to us?
So what of these streets paved with gold that half the world if we are to believe the government want to come to?
Some indeed find tolerance acceptance and in instances actual love and kindness.
But no matter how much  tolerance (as they go on about being a tolerant society?) is displayed by some, there are  many who were are not so. 

And this was made clear and evident by the etchings on the walls, in signs on windows everywhere! 

"NF," "no wogs."
Niggers go home." "No blacks no dogs No irish etc." 
(Note  we make Dianne Abbot right) 

It's not the same outcomes for people with ginger hair, gypsys and Jews?
And I really dont subscribe to the 16 hundreds Gotten example of anti/semitism anyway? I  don't think the European Caucasian ham argument works for me. And if it were to take it as gospel, then our treatment of all semetic speakers including most on the boats who actually come from semetic speaking countries  not via Europe or an institution, but by actual location would have to be included in this by definition?
We never consider that aspect the same way we don't have sceams to put up Afghans in our house with a bursary from the government?
Double standards stinks of racism!
So let’s take a look at this phenomenon they call racism its use and intentions!
The first entry recorded in the oxford dictionary' of the word racist was by a man named Richard Henry Pratt in 1902 at the time he was railing against the evils of racial segregation,
He argued that segregating, any class or race, apart from the rest of the people, kills the progress of the segregated people, or makes their growth very slow, and that association of races and classes is necessary to destroy racism and classism.
Although pratt's intention may have been to inveigh against racism and its affects by name, he is much better remembered for a very different coinage.
“kill the Indian save the man....”
Pratt replaced the popular idea that some groups were natively inferior to others with the idea that some cultures that were the problem to him, needed to be corrected or destroyed, in other words he swapped biological determinism for cultural imperialism.
Now over a century after he was first recorded using the word, we still ask the question...... 
(Is she or isn't she racist? Or is he or isn't he racist?)
in situations where no clear answer would ever present itself. We argue about the composition of the accused soul and the fundamental goodness or badness therein. but those things we can't possibly know.  And as we litigate that question other more meaningful questions can become obscured.
However, racism remains a force of enormous consequence in our lives, yet no one can be accused of perpetuating it without kicking up a grand fight, no one ever says "Yeah I'm just a little bit racist, I'm sorry" that's in part because racists, in our cultural conversations have become inhuman, they're fairy tale villains and thus can't be real.
In the century since Pratt used the word racism, the term has become an abstraction, but always buried somewhere underneath it are actions with real consequences. Sometimes those outcomes are intended sometimes they're not. 
It always the outcomes not the intentions that cause us the most damage .
 
So that's a bit about its history and its affects, but what of the history of racism for us here in the U.K.?
We start with the Windrush but in reality, before it landed there was a population of around 30.000 non-whites among an overall population of 50 million in 1948 and there were a few ships before the Windrush but let’s start there.

One misty morning in June 1948 a former German cruise boat, the Empire Windrush, steamed up the Thames to the Tilbury Dock, London, where she disembarked some 500 hopeful settlers from Kingston, Jamaica: 492 was the official figure, but there were several stowaways as well. Many of them were ex-servicemen, who had served in England during the war. The Pe omg new arrivals were the first wave in Britain’s post-war drive to recruit labour from the Commonwealth to cover employment shortages in state-run services like the NHS and London Transport.

One of them was a future Mayor of Southwark, Sam King, who had served in England with the wartime RAF. His family had sold three cows to buy his ticket which cost £28.10shillings in the old money (upward of £600 today). Looking back on the experience years afterwards – in Forty Winters On, published by Lambeth Council – he recalled that as the ship drew towards England there was apprehension on board that the authorities would turn it back. He got two ex-RAF wireless operators among the passengers to play dominoes innocently outside the ship’s radio room and eavesdrop on incoming signals. They heard on the BBC that Arthur Creech Jones, Colonial Secretary in the Labour government of the time, had pointed out that: ‘These people have British passports and they must be allowed to land.’ He added that they would not last one winter in England anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.

The newspapers were already keenly interested in the voyage of what they embarrassingly called ‘the sons of empire’ and the Colonial Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Labour were busily engaged in trying to dodge responsibility for the newcomers, whose imminent arrival they viewed with alarm. Eventually the Colonial Office, defeated in these arcane bureaucratic manoeuvrings, reluctantly opened the deep air-raid shelter under Clapham Common and about 230 of the new arrivals moved into it. The others had organised some sort of job and accommodation for themselves beforehand. The labour exchange nearest Clapham Common happened to be the one in Brixton, in Coldharbour Lane, and it was this that made Brixton the first of London’s new West Indian ghettoes.

So, some 1st generation faced adversity and discrimination before they even stepped off the boat.... in 1948

20 years past and things did not get any better, in 1968 we had?

Enoch Powell's  "the river of blood speech,!

I would like to read you just a small part of Enoch's speech

“For reasons which they could not comprehend, and in pursuance of a decision by default, on which they were never consulted, they found themselves made strangers in their own country. They found their wives unable to obtain hospital beds in childbirth, their children unable to obtain school places, their homes and neighbourhoods changed beyond recognition, their plans and prospects for the future defeated; at work they found that employers hesitated to apply to the immigrant worker the standards of discipline and competence required of the native-born worker; they began to hear, as time went by, more and more voices which told them that they were now the unwanted. On top of this, they now learn that a one-way privilege is to be established by Act of Parliament; a law which cannot, and is not intended to, operate to protect them or redress their grievances, is to be enacted to give the stranger, the disgruntled and the agent provocateur the power to pillory them for their private action.”

 Now some 50 years later, I would say this to Enoch if he were here, yes you were right there have been many rivers of blood, but they have mostly been ours, in facton reflection it sounded almost like you were talking about our blood?

In fact we will need many more  Acts of parliament to address the disparities that have been exasperated since your day to weere we find ourselves today at 3 to 4% of the population yet when it comes to education our children are 3 times more likely to get excluded,

In employment--we have 12% higher unemployment; we get paid 14% less and yes of course we are way underrepresented in management.

When it comes to crime 3 times more likely to get prosecuted, how can 3% of the population make up such a larger percentage of incarcerations?

We are subjected to poorer living standards, for instance if you're an ethnic minority your 37% more likely to live in poverty....

These are all figures that we don't just hear but live daily....????

Yet every once and a while we reflect with another one  of 14 racial disparity reports over last 3years one report in the last few years headed by Dr Tony Sewell, which gave evidence in January 2021  in the form of data and recommendations from previous commissions but like them had no teeth to actually enact them, (even though it said someone in a cupboard somewhere someone somehow had cured racism in the U.K.?? And  we were a roll model of diversity to the world and had accordingl to Mr I can't even call him by his legoland doctorate (he always blamed the black family nucleus from his days at the Voice!) with a simple shimmy!!! Racism cured?? NOT!

 

So where are we now with a force riddled with misogyny homophobia and even though they won’t admit to it? A legacy for Mcphearson until now of being institutionally racist?"!


And really does the met boss think we are all stupid and he is the only one who doesn't want to justify a terminology that clearly has been used as a result of what was found again and again and again!

So siting stupidness  about its use being politicised is poppycock!

And the met won't change!

At least other forces such as Scotland's the second biggest have admitted to it and that's a start.

The Met and others  continue to defend itself despite so many allegations and proven charges being brought against its members?

It still has its head in the sand sayin it's just....?

“A few Bad Apples”

Well maybe 100s of officers suddenly having faced serious legality concerns yet still being defended are just a few “Bad apples” but quite frankly it’s not just the Met is it, it's the government too showing a need for special measures, Rishi has lost ge second most amount of caninets ministers than any other can he really hold of together for long??

Something needs doing? Maybe government and Met disbanded and rebuilt with integrity in order to see how broken down and outdated it is especially in holding its own to account?

And  as if we didn't have enough to deal with’Austerity Brexit and then the Pandemic!

Now wether we like it or not the country will be embroiled in culture wars (mostly trans with a sprinkle of antisemitism) all the way up to the next election!

After many took a liberties during lock down,they are now attempting to play these futile Culture Wars?

First Pritti shxxty Patel and now what’s her name Not Cruella braver man?

In fact it sometimes seems they are creating an embargo on any positive good news in order to constantly bombard us with thus trope!!

“Hotel Rwanda propaganda or “Hilton Air Bases”  and now we  have the "Asylum cruise barges"!?

Along with unsubstantiated blanket  comments about Pakistani’s being responsible for alfor grooming specifically?

These attempts to distract us with culture wars certainly won’t get the public's confidence or votes !! It’s clearly a plot and a desperate nonstarter!

These announcements are getting so puerile and redundant, do they really think if they pick on kids who (don’t vote) they will look tough?

The next one will be silver bottles in parks?

I don’t know any black shop that sells those?

This will be the next one??

Government and Elon Musk announce Intergalactic asylum seeking partnership!-

Policy-one liner....

"We just blast em into space on a one way rocket and job done! Thd moon can become the new Australia???????

I'm sure even now they have people/ looking at even more ridiculous outlandish announcements like that??

instead of getting on with the real job of processing the actual claims the Home Office has? 

And indeed we now find ourselves in a Brexit Britain thanks to the older population who wontt even be around to see what a mess thier misguided nationalism did?

Definitely making it unquestionably more isolated as a nation and thus worse off.

European Trade and Relations either nonexistent or extremely questionable? 

From the top down.

From the Lucky Sperms of the Royal Family's own recent run in's with Child Trafficking and Prostitution £12.000.00to Covert Racism, is what a lot of the world sees of us now!

Even the relatively non political great institutions like Football Cricket the Fire Service have all recently revealed revelations regarding historic racism and shows it's not just the Met it's everywhere!

So maybe it's our slight acceptance of misogyny homphobia xenophobia and racism in our British Culture

This has become too big a problem to keep saying it's just just a "few bad apples" because from where we sit it's so numerous that to identify and simply route out individuals in particular organisations who's behaviour brings the whole of our society into disrepute is becoming more and more difficult.

So what about theses leaders after bumbling Boris came TRUSS and Kwasi who just mashed up everything then disappear like Covid?

Now we got another extremely rich dude, but still a random no one voted for called Rishi? 

And instead of Pritti shxxxty Patel we have Cruella BraveNotMe? 

Preaching complete disregard for anyone who is an immigrant like her! I mean you couldn’t make it up!

But just remember it's all just a culture war distraction from the mess they are currently making of all their departments. They are most of the boil now leading up to general elections as they know they ain't going to get to finish anything they start now!

So they mostly just poncing around waiting for peerages?


So forget about them for a while at WINDRUSH 75 on WINDRUSH DAY

WINDRUSH SQ 22-06-23it's a Thursday so put it in your diary and book the weekend off let's make it a long Caribbean one!

With a coming together,filled with the British Caribbean-So called Wiindrush Generations!

This time not for another Nine Nights!!  

But for 1 night of memories music laughter and fun.

In simple togetherness  to commemorate and celebrate some of the 1st generation's sacrifices and contributions while admiring the great foundation of achievements they made for us the future generations.

WINDRUSH 75

WINDRUSH DAY

WINDRUSH SQ

Article by Alton Anderson
Black News UK    

Tags: