The Windrush Stories: Don’t Give Up – an exhibition at Cartwright Hall
After the devastation caused by World War 2, the British Government was keen for more workers to help rebuild the country and revive the economy. In 1948 they passed a law called the British Nationality Act that said all citizens of countries ruled by Britain could live and work in the UK. Many of the earliest arrivals were from the Caribbean.
In 2022, a project funded by the British Library, and managed by Nigel Guy, Director of Windrush Generations (left), in partnership with Bradford District Museums and Galleries, trained three young people with African and Caribbean heritage – Alexandra Enyouri, Olivia Guy and Grace Flerin (below), to interview 22 Black elders of the Windrush Generation who came to live in Bradford.
The project aimed to record and preserve for future generations their untold stories. This exhibition seeks to share these stories, to increase understanding of their experiences, and to recognize and celebrate the contributions the Windrush Generation have made to Bradford.
Participants were asked to share their memories of growing up in the Caribbean and of their personal stories of life in the UK. They were also asked if they have any advice for young Black people today, of which one of the interviewees, Cynthia Rowe urged: ‘Don’t Give Up’, from which the title of this exhibition is taken.
With grateful thanks to all those involved.
