Origins of the Windrush Festival in London
The founder of the Radiate Festival Wendy Cummins talks about the background of the festival's creation
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Festival Origins
How We Got Started
As a Black British Caribbean woman born in the UK, I love the fact we have Black History Month and that our Caribbean community started the Notting Hill Carnival. As one of the largest street events in the world it’s an impressive marker to speak for the contribution that we made as settlers in post-war Britain. The sheer level of tourism income, exposure and world stage opportunity it brings on an annual basis to both London and the UK, is noteworthy yet purposefully understated.
Where Did the Idea for A Festival Come From?
Looking back, 2017 is when I began to work on the concept of creating an event that was fitting to join the annual calendar and would represent the legacy of the black community whilst speaking directly to me and my identity. Who I am? A 30-something year old black British woman UK born, raised, educated and fully infused with the cultural roots of her Caribbean parents and grandparents. Armed with that 'knowing identity' I set about researching dates that would be significant to my community. I knew about the Windrush as I had researched it, however in truth I'd never celebrated it or really thought it applied to me and mine as it felt as though it belonged to a special club. When I realised it was going to be 70 years since the 1948 arrival I wanted to know what big celebration London had planned but I couldn’t find any kind of festival or major event taking place. It took me a moment to realise that I deserved and needed to own the date and period as part of ‘my own’ very relevant history since it significantly marked our mass arrival and the underpinning of multiculturalism in Britain.
The Struggle Was Real!
When I settled on highlighting the Windrush as an iconic part of our story and building a festival around it, the struggle was real & all uphill. Since the scandal of the Hostile Environment had not been exposed as yet 99% of people in London were not used to hearing talk of the Windrush, let alone thinking of supporting a large park based event to celebrate it as a date in the diary. I kept on knocking doors and making calls daily, I begged and cajoled so many to join the effort to deliver a first event for the 70th Anniversary in 2018. So many people said that I couldn't pull it off and wouldn't sponsor or support it. I'm a pretty determined woman so I dug deep to find me some of that black girl/woman magic I heard was being sprinkled about and threw a whole bunch of it all over me. My family supported me, my friends supported me and the community called my phone and sent emails encouraging and thanking me.
We Have Lift Off!
On 23 & 24 June 2018 it happened, a 2-day event to celebrate the Windrush took place with a great deal of input from the local community. Every single performer came on stage and contributed their time and talent for free, something that was so touching. Families came out together with flags, whistles and horns. For the majority of event attendees this was the very first time that they were actually out celebrating the history of their arrival in Britain. Everything was not perfect but that is ok, we did it and we will continue the heart of the people shone through that weekend and it was amazingly emotional.
Creating this journey has been one of the best decisions I have made, but I could never have achieved it alone. I'm grateful to those who stepped up and stepped into the gaps to bring the Radiate Windrush Festival to life and I'm so excited to watch it grow.
What's the Legacy of this Festival?
This festival happens because of you, me & all of us together. The Government does not fund this Celebration of Community and we are not backed by large corporations, sponsors or investors. We graft, we build, we bring, we own. At the heart of it we always remember that we do this for the love of and ownership of our own culture not because we are trying to meet a metric of diversity.
Signing Off: #togetherweradiate
Wendy xox
