Anndeloris Reflects on the Windrush Era 1948-1971
A reflection written by Bristol Black Carers CEO, Anndeloris Chacon
I am not from the Windrush Era - 1948 to 1971, but I have had the pleasure to hear the stories from different individuals who came to the UK during the twenty-three years. What I have found strange, is that a label has been given to the people from the Caribbean islands who travelled to the islands of the United Kingdom. This made me smile.
The media’s portrayal suggests that only the Windrush brought people from the Caribbean. Most of the people I have spoken to travelled by aeroplane, and each had different experiences. Some faced racism from the start, while others did not experience it at first, however this changed as time went by.
Some people moved in with family into their own homes, others had to privately rent. The focus of many conversations about experiences of emigrating to the UK focus on adults, however, we have never asked what it was like for the children. I, too, did not think of it until a friend said to me that she came around the age of five and her father had bought a house for his children to live in. She never experienced the signs of – “No Dogs, No Irish, No Blacks”.
A young man described his attitude to his parents around the food they cooked because he was not living around other Caribbean people. He fussed about why his mother was not cooking the same food as his white friends. Later in his life when he moved around the Black community then he grasped a better understanding of the food.
All this says to me that we have failed to appreciate the diversity within the different islands and cultures that make up the Caribbean community…We are painted with one brush, and calling us Windrush is the perfect example.
I wonder if there has been a breakdown of the different islands which people migrated from, and how this informs their identity. I understand that the largest number of Caribbean people may have been on the Windrush, but there is no reason to call us Windrush.
Many of us who do not belong to that period are being asked about that period. Yet again assumptions are being made rather than asking politely, “What year did you come to the UK?” or “Are you of Caribbean Heritage?” or “Are you British and what is your ethnic background?”
So, my question is to The Caribbean people, “Why have we accepted this label of a ship’s name, Windrush?”
This article was previously published by Black South West Network
About Anndeloris Chacon
Anndeloris’s career as a Registered Nurse began in Trinidad and Tobago where she was also a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Registered Nurses Association. She migrated to Canada in 1988 and returned to Trinidad and Tobago four years later. In 1999, Anndeloris migrated to Bristol, soon becoming Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Clinical Coordinator for eleven years. As of October 2015, Anndeloris Chacon has held the position of CEO of Bristol Black Carers. Through her leadership, Bristol Black Carers was awarded the ‘Best Specialist Carer Organisation’ Award 2021. She is also the recipient of the MTM Award 2018 for her advocacy work.
