Bristol Reggae Orchestra will receive £21,988 in government funding to host events and activities to mark the fourth national Windrush Day. They plan to use the funds to increase participation in their performances and hope to establish a Bristol Windrush Reggae Choir as an independent entity.
The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has distributed a total of £500,000 to 35 community groups across the UK. This year’s projects will focus on bringing communities together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate their local area about the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants across the country.
Bristol Reggae Orchestra was formed in St Pauls 12 years ago by community worker Stella Quinlivan after a conversation with local Jamaican resident, Chris Williams who suggested that she set one up in Bristol. Their first concert sold out and what was originally St Pauls Reggae Orchestra has expanded to include the whole of Bristol as a result of it’s popularity.
READ MORE: Bristol musician died just months after winning Windrush Scandal battle to be British
Political activist, filmmaker, historian and former Labour councillor for the London Borough of Hackney, Patrick Vernon OBE, campaigned for a Windrush Day in 2013. It was not until 2018 that the Conservative Government agreed to formally recognise his petition and celebrate the day, with funding to mark the occasion.
Every year since 2018 the day has been celebrated on June 22 because it was on that day in 1948 the MV Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks bringing workers from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages. The Windrush generation is a term used to describe the workers and their families who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971.
The original 2013 campaign for an official Windrush Day resurfaced and gained recognition in 2018 following the Windrush Scandal which involved the deportation and denial of healthcare to Commonwealth citizens who had been living and working in the UK for decades. Although the government opened up a compensation scheme following a public outcry, as of September 2021 only 5 percent of the victims had been awarded compensation, according to a Home Office Select Committee Report.
A National Windrush monument will be unveiled at Waterloo Station on 22 June (Windrush Day) as a permanent tribute to the contribution of Caribbean pioneers in communities across the United Kingdom. It will create a permanent place of reflection and inspiration and be a visible statement of our shared history and heritage.
The project is being overseen by DLUHC and led by the Windrush Commemoration Committee (WCC), chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE. A livestream link will be posted on the Windrush Commemoration Committee website on the day and a large screen at the Southbank Centre in Waterloo, London will be streaming the ceremony directly, followed by Caribbean food, music, and entertainment until 7pm on Windrush Day.
Bristol Reggae Orchestra leader, Rebecca Scott said: “We are delighted to be recipients of a DLUHC Windrush Grant this year. This builds on our 12 year history as the UK’s only Reggae Orchestra and our successful collaborations with a range of other organisations in St Pauls, Bristol
“The funds will allow us to create a unique vocal ensemble/orchestral collaboration to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants to the cultural, social and economic life of Bristol and beyond.
“We cannot currently accommodate the growing number of adults and young people who would like to engage with us through singing. A vocal ensemble will enable us to include more people in performances, challenge us to create repertoire to include multiple voices and will, we hope, lead to establishing a Bristol Windrush Reggae Choir as an independent entity.”
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra will be performing in Bristol for Windrush Day, 2022, details to be confirmed soon.
