Dear LPG,

In this Black History month of October, I have to admit that I thought I knew a lot about such things but, every time I get talking to someone who has been here for a bit longer than I have I learn something new.  

I used to think that I had a really full experience of everything that making the decision to leave home in the West Indies and arrive in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s had to offer, but I had no idea of the problems that those who first stepped from the Empire Windrush onto British soil experienced.  Many had their lives adversely affected as we know, they had the ignorance of the people around them to put up with, but even Government Policy was a challenge from what I am now learning.

After all these years our Government is going some way towards putting things right but, in the same way that some leave prison having been found innocent after years of incarceration, not all wrongs can be righted. 

The Windrush generation were our forerunners and, even though we were invited, it is now common knowledge that, like many from other nations who have found their way to UK shores, it has taken decades for us to change the mind-set of some English Nationals. 

It is well documented that we originally were invited to help rebuild the country after the devastation of WWII, and with us we brought a whole new genre of cuisine, music and other things.  There are few here who have not heard of Bob Marley, Reggae and Jerk Pork.   We are now part of a rich mix of Brits who have roots that originate in many other countries in our world.               

As one who arrived in 1960 from that very island, I think that we have brought some positive bits of our culture to this society over the years as have people from so many other countries.

So, while many first generation West Indian immigrants who came for a short stay and have now found themselves retired in the UK, think of the negative aspects of their life and times, as with everything and no matter where they hailed from, after all the years we have spent here, the children we have had here, the work we have done here, and the culture we have brought here, I would argue that life could have been better but, when you look back from the perspective of older age; life has not been so bad…

Rudy Morgan