Last Monday we took the day out of our usual working day to take time to reflect, learn and celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and also express solidarity with those affected by racism and the hostile environment. Staff were encouraged to watch, read or listen to something related to the stories of the people who came to the UK following WW2. We then spent some time discussing what we had learnt and sharing resources that we had found illuminating and then celebrated with a ‘virtual shared lunch’ of Caribbean food either home cooked from our kitchens or from local takeaways.
In the afternoon some of the cast from our 5* show, Bystanders read excerpts from the play which features the story of Vernon Vanriel, the Windrush generation boxer who was exiled to Jamaica for 13 years. We were lucky enough to be joined by Vernon on the Zoom call (his first ever!) and staff and Members were able to ask him about his experiences.
We also heard from our Member Brandon and his struggles with the UK immigration system now.
