#windrush generation

[thewales-family]

The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Grange Pavilion as they celebrate the beginning of Black History Month and the 75th of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush, in Cardiff, Wales -October 3rd 2023.

[luvmesumus]

[albertayebisackey]

"They came with hope in their hearts and dreams in their eyes, building a bridge between nations and generations." - Anonymous

[youfillmewithinertia-xoxo]

Whitechapel, London (1964) by Ian Berry

[michaelfromla]

Petticoat Lane Market, London. 1950s Photographer Dennis Anthony.

Source: https://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/09/25/dennis-anthonys-petticoat-lane/

[ausetkmt]

Action is needed to show nurses of colour that their contribution is valued and their lives matter, as opposed to words, nursing leaders have warned on the third annual Windrush Day.

On this day in 1948, the first group of people arrived in Essex from the Caribbean on the Empire Windrush cruise ship, pictured above, answering the UK’s call for public sector workers following the Second World War.

“There is still so much to do to level the playing field for people of colour in the UK" Trevor Sterling

Many of these passengers and the other members of the Windrush Generation – along with their descendants – were or would go on to become nurses, helping to create the National Health Service.

The government announced in 2018 that 22 July would become an annual holiday to celebrate the British-Caribbean community and to thank those who helped to rebuild Britain after the war.

The designation came in the wake of the Windrush Scandal in which stories of Commonwealth citizens being wrongfully detained, deported and denied their rights came to light.

Windrush Day this year is particularly poignant as it coincides with a time of national and international reflection on the racial inequalities in our society brought to stark attention by Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matters movement.

More on this topic:

Workplace racism linked to BAME nurses’ higher virus risk

Action on BAME nurse risks coming, minister tells Nursing Times

Nurses from Asian backgrounds at highest Covid-19 risk, finds PHE review

‘Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter have placed racism in the spotlight’

High death rates among Filipino nurses in UK now on global radar

BAME groups at ‘higher risk’ of getting Covid-19 with deprivation among factors

Exclusive: BME nurses ‘feel targeted’ to work on Covid-19 wards

NHS leaders set out new measures to protect BME staff in pandemic

Professor Greta Westwood, chief executive of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, said more needed to be done to “redress the current imbalance” in nursing in terms of race.

While 20% of the overall NHS nursing and midwifery workforce in England is from a black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME) background, the percentage reduces to 4% for director-level nursing posts.

“It saddens me today to see that our BAME staff, whose own ancestors helped to build the NHS, still feel that they have to break through glass ceilings to succeed,” said Professor Westwood.

Greta Westwood

The foundation launched the Windrush Leadership Programme to help BAME nurses at bands 5 to 6 reach senior leadership positions and now also runs Windrush Leadership Scholarships.

Some of the BAME nurses and midwives who applied to the programme had been in their band 5 roles for more than 20 years.

“Since its foundation, the Windrush Leadership Programme has helped BAME staff find their voice and rightfully claim their place as senior leaders in the NHS,” added Professor Westwood.

“I urge my fellow NHS and other healthcare leaders to redress the current imbalance. We as the foundation will continue to foster this talent, but it is our collective responsibility to work together. Action not words create change.”

One Windrush scholar, Deborah Hylton, said when she joined the programme, she was working as a band 6 health visitor and was struggling with “self-doubt” after being continuously turned down for band 7 roles.

Inspired by her sister and sister-in-law who both came to the UK from the Caribbean when she was 13 and trained as nurses, Ms Hylton joined the nursing profession as a mature student with two young children to “give back to my community”.

She said the “confidence and skills” she gained through the course helped her to secure her current role as a lecturer in children’s nursing at London South Bank University.

“I am now in a position where I can encourage student nurses from all ethnic groups that nothing is impossible. I am able to stand in front of them as their lecturer and role model and make them aware of another career direction that nursing can offer,” said Ms Hylton.

Meanwhile, staff from four London hospitals will tonight mark Windrush Day by gathering outside their buildings at 5pm and taking a knee to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The protest will be observed by workers at St Thomas Hospital, Kings College Hospital, South London and Maudsley Hospitals, and Lewisham University Hospital.

The action is being organised by Unite the union at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal College of Nursing Inner South East London.

Mark Boothroyd, Unite branch secretary for Guy's and St Thomas', said: “The NHS has the same problems of systemic racism as every other part of society.

“With over 50% of nursing staff in London being from BME backgrounds and directly affected by this, its important staff can show their support for Black Lives Matter, and push their own employers to make changes to tackle the ongoing issue of racism in the NHS.”

The RCN is also using Windrush Day to urge the Home Office to grant indefinite leave to remain to all international health and care workers who have worked in the UK during the pandemic.

“The NHS has the same problems of systemic racism as every other part of society" Mark Boothroyd

Dame Donna Kinnair, RCN chief executive and general secretary, said: “The best way to honour the legacy of Windrush Day is to ensure no nurse, or health and care worker, who trained overseas, and helped in this pandemic, feels alien in this country.

“Granting automatic, indefinite leave to remain to international health and care workers who helped tackle this virus should be instinctive.

“The services and support that they provide, though brought to the fore through this pandemic, have always been essential. They are, and always will be, key workers.”

More than one in 10 of the total registered nursing workforce in the UK come from overseas, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. As of September 2019, 77,065 registered nurses came from outside the European Economic Area.

However, international nursing staff must wait five years before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and are required to take a test to prove their Britishness before they are granted it.

Donna Kinnair

Another organisation demanding action over words is the Mary Seacole Trust which exists to educate the public about the life of the British-Jamaican nursing pioneer who cared for soldiers during the Crimean War, working against both racism and sexism.

The trust oversaw the creation of a Mary Seacole statue in 2016 in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital, becoming the first statue in the UK in honour of a named black woman.

To mark Windrush Day, the organisation is calling for a national “black plaque scheme” to educate the public on UK black history.

It has written to the prime minister and London mayor to request that plaques are put up next to all British statues to explain the historical context, with the wording decided in collaboration with members of the black community.

Trevor Sterling, chair of the Mary Seacole Trust, said: “Windrush Day has a huge significance for me, my family and countless other black people in the UK.

Trevor Sterling

“Since the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in 1948, we have been contributing to our communities in Britain, and yet like Mary Seacole, our contributions are not fully recognised.

“There is still so much to do to level the playing field for people of colour in the UK, as seen most recently in the disproportionate number of BAME coronavirus deaths.

“Education about black British history must be central to all policy changes. If we are to truly address racism in the UK, we must first educate British citizens."

[randomberlinchick]

“I’ve got quite obsessed in trying to capture these people���s stories because a lot of them are getting very old now,” Reeves said. “I’m quite keen to get as many of those stories as possible because they have just not been heard; stories about life, coming over to England to help out and to work. They are not really spoken about much. We hear about the people that have come over and become famous or done really well, but I love the stories of just normal, everyday people.”

*deep sigh* . . .

[ryanwclement]

Windrush Day 2024

[thewales-family]

The Princess of Wales visits Fitzalan High School as she celebrates the beginning of Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush, in Cardiff, Wales -October 3rd 2023.

[mrsm-h]

Happy Windrush Day! 🌟

Today, we honor and celebrate the incredible men and women who came to Britain to help rebuild the nation after World War II. ��✊🏾

76 years ago, the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks with 1,027 passengers from the Caribbean.

Today, we remember our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who left everything behind to restore a war-torn Britain.

However, we must also acknowledge those still affected by the Windrush scandal. Many are living in poverty, awaiting compensation after decades of unjust immigration policies.

As of March 2024, around 1,050 claims are still pending.

For more details on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, click on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-march-2024

Artwork by: Rosie Williams

[jamaicahomescom]

Jamaica: A Tribute to the Past and Present, and Advice for Those Returning Home

The announcement of the Bob Marley film sparked excitement within me. Bob Marley, a national icon not only for Jamaicans but for the world, transcended borders with his music. His songs carried the essence of Jamaica wherever they played, providing a sense of home to many. For those who left Jamaica in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, his music brought a piece of Jamaica to community gatherings, parties,…

[insidecroydon]

Dominoes at Windrush Centre, Whitgift Centre, Aug 12 and 19

Continue reading Untitled

[spacedadsupport]

Jean-Luc Picard @SpaceDadSupport Any authority figure that says you should not question them because they or their systems are infallible has immediately proven themselves wrong on both counts. 3:23 PM · Feb 3, 2024

[yearningforunity]

Without The Windrush Generation, British MC Culture Would Be Non-Existent

Over the decades, descendants of the Windrush Generation have built legacies that have changed Britain musically and culturally forever. Today, we say thank you.

[jahbillah]

On role of the Deejay

Dominant and subversive versions of Africa and African history reproduced the dynamic outlined above but on an international scale. In Britain in the 1980s imperial relations were being re-imagined in the context of humanitarian aid. Black youths in Britain wielded their African heritage as a tool to build their communities and give voice to their analysis. Meanwhile the mainstream press, and…