Black Britain Before Windrush

On June 21st 1948, the Empire Windrush docked in the United Kingdom, bringing with it 492 immigrants from the Caribbean, encouraged to migrate to provide manual labour to restore post-war Britain. Marked as “the primary scene of Black migration to Britain,” and even posed by academics as the “single event in launching multicultural Britain” there is a generalisation that Black Culture before 1948 was non-existent and that Windrush launched British society into multiculturalism.

The reality, however, is that while the Windrush arrival influenced the subsequent flow of migrants from the Caribbean after 1948, it was not the catalyst for Black culture in Britain. Multicultural migration had been occurring in Britain since the Roman invasions in 43 AD, and to claim that Black culture was only introduced with Windrush creates an incomplete history that denies voice to an integral part of society. By 1942, Britain already had a Black population of around 8,000–10,000. Although this represented a small proportion of society, this fact is integral to recognise, demonstrating that Black individuals were part of society and that Windrush was not the introduction of Black culture into Britain.

The Eurocentric national consensus that Britain before Windrush was predominantly a white nation is contested through the emergence of the Black British Jazz scene, a symbol of the thriving nature of Black culture in Britain. Post-war Britain in 1919 saw the first significant emergence of the jazz scene that undeniably intersects themes of race, social prejudice and the influence of immigration on British music. The arrival of the African American group, the Southern Syncopated Orchestra (SSO), in Britain was “the first large-scale, purely musical Black act to perform in the country during the twentieth century.”

The emergence of music as a creative medium through which Black culture flourished reinforces the idea that “creativity and courage are the most powerful tools we have to make a lasting mark on the world”. Hailed as Jazz pioneers, the SSO was formed by Black individuals, and comprising of 27 musicians and 19 singers, helped lead a musical revolution with the introduction of Jazz into Britain. Their performances, including appearances at the Brighton Dome in 1921 and for King George V in Buckingham Palace, would go on to encourage multicultural musical collaboration and, in the long term, change how Black music was seen in British society.

Pre-Windrush Black presence in Britain was also shaped by the work of Black individuals, such as Mary Seacole and Olaudah Equiano. Seacole, hailed as the “Florence Nightingale of Jamaica,” cared for British soldiers in the Crimean war in the 19th century. Her knowledge of foreign diseases and skill for nursing made her a national hero, later residing in London until her death. Equiano, an eighteenth-century African-born man living in London, became a central figure in the abolition movement in Britain. Through his writings recounting his journey from enslavement to freedom, and as a founding member of the ‘Sons of Africa,’ a group dedicated to campaigning for the abolition of slavery, he played a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. The lives of these individuals demonstrate that Black people and communities lived in Britain long before the Windrush generation, bringing with them revolutionary literature, activism, and knowledge that helped Britain develop into the modern nation it is today.

The emergence of jazz music, activist groups such as the Sons of Africa and the aid of Mary Seacole, together demonstrate that Windrush in 1948 was not the primary catalyst for Black culture in Britain. Although the Windrush generation contributed greatly to the growth of cultural expression – particularly through multicultural music, and societal and legislative changes such as the civil rights movements, it is clear that Britain before 1948 had compelling individuals and groups that were shaping cultural life. The imperial nature of Britain throughout history, however, carried prejudice, racism, and imposed notions of inferiority onto Black people in its colonies, erasing their legacies and denying them recognition and agency to speak the truth of their narratives. In truth, Black migration and presence in Britain has played a crucial role, aiding warfare, legislative changes, social movements, and developing Britain as the multi-cultural society it is in the modern day.

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