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On June 22 1948, HMT Empire Windrush – which docked at Tilbury in Essex the day before – brought hundreds of Caribbean passengers who would soon make the UK their home. Seventy-one years later, the contribution of the Windrush Generation (those arriving 1948-71) to British society is enormous, not least in London. So no wonder there’s an annual day of celebration in the city with vibrant parties and thought-provoking events.
Windrush Day this year falls on a weekend – Saturday June 22 – but events will be taking place all of next week and beyond. Here’s our pick of the best.
Radiate Windrush Festival
Wendy Cummins
Soak up the sounds, sights and delicious grub at London’s biggest celebration of the capital’s black communities. There’ll be a host of acts performing plus an art gallery, a children’s play zone and a food village with Caribbean, African and Creole cuisine.
Crystal Palace Park. Crystal Palace Overground. Sat Jun 22-Sun Jun 23. £7-£10, £5 concs.
Windrush Day at the Migration Museum
There’ll be spoken word performances and appearances from actual Windrush elders at this day of activities which coincides with the Migration Museum’s new audiovisual exhibition, ‘Caribbean Takeaway Takeover: Identities and Stories’. The exhibition sees the museum café morph into a Caribbean takeaway, telling inspiring Windrush stories.
Migration Museum at The Workshop. Vauxhall tube. Sat Jun 22. Exhibition until Jul 28. Free.
Black Culture Pop-Up Market: Windrush Special
Tamara Amarquaye
Black Culture Pop-Up Market, a weekend showcase of black businesses from the African and Caribbean diaspora, returns with a celebratory Windrush Day slant. Expect a variety of stalls selling food, drinks, clothes, stationery, books, beauty, hair products and more. Don’t expect to walk away empty-handed.
Impact Brixton. Brixton tube. Sat Jun 22-Sun Jun 23. Free entry.
Elephant & Castle with Barrington
Rob Greig
This walking tour, the first of several migrant-led ‘My London’ walks, will be led by poet and ‘walking jukebox’ Barrington. Expect both Barrington and the area’s vibrant history to shine through as you learn about its past, its present and the constant threat to its future from new developments. The tour ends at the Migration Museum.
Meet by pink elephant statue outside Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre. Sat Jun 22. £10.
Tracing Your Windrush Roots Workshop
This workshop allows guests to explore their own Windrush roots. And there’s no better person to be leading it: renowned genealogist Adrian Stone has discovered more than 6,000 previously unknown relatives, spanning a timeline of 250 years.
Lambeth College Clapham Centre. Clapham Common tube. Sat Jun 22, Sep 7, Oct 26. £25.
Hear more stories of the Windrush Generation from the people who were part of it.
Find more great things to do in London this month with our June guide.