The Windrush Telford & Wrekin Exhibition was held at Telford Elim Community Church on Friday, open to members of the local community and members of the Windrush generation.
It was first launched at Telford College last year, created to honor the memories of families who traveled thousands of miles to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War.
The Telford African and Afro-Caribbean Resource Center (TARC) has spent the last few weeks visiting Telford schools speaking to students on the topic of ‘Unity in Diversity’.
Natalie Headley, founder of TARC said: “We think it went really well, we had some of the Windrush generation with us and it was great to see that they were excited to see their photos on the board.
“It was really well attended and we had some Jamaican scratches that went really well. It was a good display, we had everything on the wall and a PowerPoint showing the band that we couldn’t get on the wall.”
Natalie said many factory workers, bus workers and railway station workers who came to Britain between 1948 and 1971 lived in Telford.
The exhibition paid tribute to Rupert Scott, who arrived in Telford in 1958 and settled in Wellington, where he became a pastor at the New Testament Church of God.
With his wife Lennet, the couple served their community in a number of ways and were known as ‘Mum and Dad’ among their peers.
The exhibit was also an event to mark Black History Month, which runs from October 1 to October 31, to commemorate the history, achievements and contributions of people of color.
Natalie believes she has seen more than 4,000 students while teaching workshops which focus on the often uncomfortable historical journey from the colonies to the Commonwealth.
“It’s our shared history and for many people it’s an unknown history. It’s often uncomfortable, but the younger generation needs to understand where they came from to understand where they’re going,” Natalie added.
“Many students don’t even realize that Britain once occupied a third of the world.
“We have those difficult conversations about how this happened and about slavery and forced labour, but we also talk about how the Commonwealth was created and revolutions and democracy and consent.
“We do it so that we can strive for the values of the Commonwealth as it is now, to share in those values of unity.”
People who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries have been labeled the Windrush generation.
Refers to the MV Empire Windrush, which docked at Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands, to help fill the UK’s post-war labor shortage.
The ship was carrying 492 passengers – many of them children.
The scandal, which broke in April 2018, led to the UK government apologizing for deportation threats made to children of Commonwealth citizens.
Despite living and working in the UK for decades, many were told they were there illegally because they lacked official documents.
