More than 40 groups have been awarded funding through the Windrush Day Grant Scheme for arts, educational and sporting projects across England on the 75th anniversary of arrival of the MV Empire Windrush to the UK, the Minister for Communities announced today.
£750,000 has been awarded to projects across England, including The Brixton Project, a community-led carnival of art, theatre and music, and the Blackstory Partnership, a commemorative Windrush 75 event in Birmingham. More than 200 Windrush Day projects have received a share of the £2.75 million funding over four years in celebration of the contributions of the Windrush generation and their families.
These community-led initiatives will celebrate the anniversary with events and activities taking place between 8 June and 31 August this year.
Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Communities, said: "We wanted to celebrate the positive contribution the Windrush generation and their families bring to this country and recognise the contributions made by all British Caribbean people in our communities.
Bringing people together is a way to ensure better understanding and social cohesion. I very much encourage everyone to get involved in what’s going on in their local area."
This year’s celebration of the British Caribbean community will mark the arrival 75 years ago of the MV Empire Windrush, when the first passengers disembarked at Tilbury Docks.
Next month, communities will come together to honour and celebrate those pioneers who answered the call to come to Britain and help rebuild the nation following the Second World War.
Last year also saw the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at London Waterloo station. The Monument is a permanent tribute to the contribution of Caribbean pioneers in communities across the United Kingdom. DLUHC worked with the advisory Windrush Commemoration Committee, chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE, to complete the project.
Chair of the Windrush Community Funds and Schemes sub-group of the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group, Paulette Simpson CBE said:
"This year’s celebration of the British Caribbean community will be extra special, as we mark the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks 75 years ago.
From those first passengers who went on to build their lives and make their home here, those that followed, and their descendants have and continue to make an enormous contribution to all aspects of British life.
National Windrush Day is now a firm fixture in the nation’s calendar and from Brixton to Wolverhampton, fantastic events and activities will be taking place across the country."
Enfield Caribbean Association was awarded a grant of £20,893 to produce an illustrated children’s book for 4-7-year-old children, and a Windrush resource pack to be used in secondary schools to teach about the Windrush generation. The pack will consist of an 80-minute film documentary, the book and lesson plans. The book will be launched in a library, with schools invited to attend. A copy of the book will be given to each primary school. The project also includes a Windrush thanksgiving celebration on National Windrush Day, with a film screening of the Windrush Voices documentary film.
The full list of projects being awarded funding can be found here.
