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Windrush Women: The Conflict of the Mother Country

New Suns: A Feminist Literary Festival

Windrush Women

Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, gal-dem deputy editor, leads a panel discussion exploring the experiences and myths surrounding the Caribbean matriarch in the UK.  

Many of the Windrush generation who came to Britain were promised to find a mythical land where the streets were paved with gold. When the Windrush docked on 22nd June 1948, its 498 Caribbean passengers (plus stowaways) who travelled arrived in the hope of finding better paid work and living prospects. Often it was the Caribbean woman whose identity and experiences captured the experience of dislocation and struggle. In some instances, the history of their struggle has been erased and now in the aftermath of the Windrush scandal, second and third generation Caribbean migrants want to change the narrative.

This panel discussion has been convened with gal-dem and features journalist Kemi Alemoru, lecturer Sharon Frazer-Carroll and make-up artist Kay Montano.
 

'Motherhood in our society still represents nurture and love, but the UK was more a wicked stepmother of the Cinderella variety to those brave enough to make the journey; encouraging hard work and reverence of British society, all the while not extending protections to these new residents from the tar brush of racism and later, the deportation orders served by the Home Office.' 
– Mother Country

This festival is part of the Barbican’s 2018 season, The Art of Change, which explores how the arts respond to, reflect and potentially effect change in the social and political landscape.

Main Image: Mid 1970s London, Combination of accessories - Photographer Errol Holder © Tuareg Productions

Part of The Art of Change

Our 2018 season explores how the arts respond to, reflect and potentially effect change in the social and political landscape.

Frobisher Auditorium 2