Welcome: Dear friends and supporters, here’s the ninth excerpt from the Society’s souvenir booklet which was issued to all guests at the recent Recognition Awards event rolled out on Saturday, 29th October 2022.

It is entitled “Our Milestones,” and it is a collation of some milestones for the modern Black community starting from 1948 (when the Windrush Generation began arriving in the UK) and spanning almost eight decades. The Society hopes that this information will stimulate discussions about the arch of progress made since the community began to establish itself in the UK.

Our milestones: On the 22 June this year the national Windrush monument was unveiled by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Waterloo station in the presence of a small group of guests, most of whom were of Caribbean background. The unveiling was a public statement or tribute from the government to the Windrush generation and their descendants for their contributions to the UK since the 2^nd World War. Many people across the country witnessed this event via livestreaming.

This moment of history for the Black community inspired the question about other significant moments in the UK’s modern Black community since 1948. Outlined below are a few more of the significant moments, or milestones if you will, from the 7^th and 8^th decades of the modern Black community.  

Decades Seven and Eight (2008 to 2027)

1. In Feb 2020 Dame Sharon White became chairman of John Lewis Partnership and was the first woman, and Black person of Caribbean background, to hold this position.

3. In 2020 a book entitled: “100 Great Black Britons” written by Patrick Vernon OBE and Dr Angelina Osbourne was published; and it was an instant best seller. Both authors are of Caribbean background.

4. In 2020 Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE won the 7th Formula-1 championship to become the greatest driver of all time, or G.O.A.T. He also established a foundation, Mission 44, for creating greater inclusion in motorsport. He was born in Britain to parents of Caribbean and white British backgrounds.

The next issue of the newsletter will address some more milestones from the 7^th and 8^th decades of the modern Black community.