AD FEATURE: Exhibition: From Emancipation To Windrush showing at Lewisham Shopping Centre

From Emancipation To Windrush Exhibition was launched on August 23, 2023, and can be freely viewed until September 15, 2023, at Lewisham Shopping Centre, London, SE13 7HB.

It is presented by Windrush Foundation, the organisation that was first to have held annual commemorations of Windrush Day since 1996.

The exhibition is curated by Arthur Torrington and includes texts and images about life in the British West Indies from emancipation in the 1830s.

It was when nearly a million Africans in British colonies won their liberty, having been enslaved for all or most of their
lives.

After August 1, 1834, African women re-created the family unit which had been severely undermined by enslavers during the previous 200 years.

The exhibition summarises major events that led to emancipation and includes stories of colonial life, the contributions
of West Indians to Britain’s prosperity, their service in the military, the arrival of hundreds of them on June 22, 1948, at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on the Empire Windrush.

It features the late Sam King MBE, ex-RAF WWII serviceman, who came up with the idea of commemorating the ship’s arrival, and who founded Windrush Day.

The exhibition also seeks to raise awareness about those who contributed to ending enforced servitude.

The road to freedom was arduous and bloody; tens of thousands of Africans were killed in their efforts to liberate themselves.

Emancipation was the beginning of a long and laborious journey towards the realisation of the right to self-determination.

For this reason, the exhibition concludes with a selection of post-emancipation stories celebrating acts of courage and resilience which have laid the foundation for the freedom many of us enjoy today.

 

Website: windrushfoundation.com

 

 

Picture: Sam King. Pictures:Windrush Foundation