When the HMT Windrush Empire ship arrived at London’s Tilbury Docks in June 1948, on board were 500 plus citizens from the Caribbean colonies eager to begin life in their new homeland.

Though Black people have lived here for over 2,000 years – as far back as the Roman invasion in 43 AD – the mid-20th century arrival symbolized the beginning of Black mass immigration to the country. When this period ended more than 20 years later, some 500,000 people from the region had settled in the UK.

The Windrush Generation, as they were named, had enthusiastically accepted the British government’s invitation to rebuild a country devastated by World War Two. However they were immediately faced with virulent discrimination, including frequent exclusion from skilled employment, housing and social venues and even physical attacks.

Sadly, nearly 70 years later in 2018, their descents were the victims of a “scandal” which saw the then-government challenging their right to live in the country, many losing jobs and services and still others deported to countries they barely knew.

In 2021, Jamaican-born, philanthropist and cultural advocate Dr. Les Johnson founded the  National Windrush Museum (NWM) to honour the strength, fortitude and contribution of these pioneers. Funding the startup personally, he has worked since then to bring public and private awareness to the cause, garnering support from national and local organizations, as well as prominent personalities, such as chef and entrepreneur Levi Roots, actor Rudolph Walker and broadcaster Moira Stuart.

According to Johnson, who came to the UK  in 1962 and was one of the first Black students to obtain a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art, the idea was initiated after a series of conversations with the Museums Association, which is responsible for developing the institutions across the country.

“The conversation went that despite having 2,500 museums in the UK, there was no museum devoted to the Windrush generation, and there are no museums dedicated to the expression of Black culture.

“This is quite sad because of the 2,500 stories that are being told in very many different ways, representing very many different communities, it meant that the Caribbean community and the Black British community, particularly those of the Windrush descents, those stories were not being told or captured within a museum.”

Today, the NWM consists of a board of 15,  a development council, headed by Roots and a group called Next Gen, made up of young innovators.  In November 2023, the plan received a major boost  when the organization signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)  with the Royal Museums Greenwich. The project allows a partnership with curators and various experts to conduct research, create exhibitions and promote the heritage of Windrush pioneers through the National Maritime Museum, and to develop the NWM.

“This partnership represents not just a collaboration but a significant opportunity to advance the National Windrush Museum mission – sharing the stories of the Windrush generation and their descendants,” Johnson said.

He is hopeful that within the next three to five years, an independent entity will be developed, in addition to the partnership. In the meantime, the NWM continues to actively promote its cause through a wide variety of events and programmes. In 2024, it launched an inaugural Windrush lecture series with speakers like Professor Dame Donna Kinnair DBE, head of the Runnymede Trust and former chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing. An accompanying conference featured broadcaster, theologian and climate and social justice professor, Dr. Robert Beckford,  and sociologist and University of Greenwich professor, Dr. Tracey Reynolds.

Johnson is excited about the future and the host of activities planned including documenting and archiving the Windrush generations’ contributions to food, medicine, the NHS, arts, and politics amongst others. However, reaching young people, through the Windrush Futures Program, has a special place in his heart.

“What it does is it looks at speculations of where the Windrush generations are going to be in years to come because my mantra is ‘doing museums differently,’ and for sure we need to encourage the younger generation to take the storytelling further and to develop the leadership that we need to institutionalize and build the National Windrush Museum.”

For more information visit https://www.nationalwindrushmuseum.com/