Sunderland is getting set to embrace a day of Afro-Caribbean culture as the city celebrates the anniversary of Windrush Day. On June 22, 1948, HMT Windrush arrived in the port of Tilbury with hundreds of people from the British colonial islands of the Caribbean who had answered the UK Government’s call to help rebuild the country in the post-war years. Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our daily newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
The ensuing years which followed saw nearly half-a-million people emigrate from the Caribbean to our shores. They became known as the Windrush generation. Introduced in 2018, Windrush Day celebrates and recognises the positive socio-economic and cultural impact both these people and subsequent generations have had on our country and cities.
Director of the African Caribbean Community Association North East, which is based in Sunderland, is Lucky Pemu. Lucky, who moved to Sunderland from Nigeria 20 years ago, said: “This is a celebration of the Windrush pioneers who were invited by the British Government after the devastation of World War Two. Advertisement Advertisement “After the war the country faced a great shortage in its workforce and the Windrush generation have made a massive contribution, taking up positions in healthcare, education and all different pro.