Mansfield Museum is running a year-long project to find out more about the contribution the Windrush generation made to the area.

It will include an exhibition at the museum and an event in Mansfield town centre.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has awarded a grant of £17,949 to Mansfield District Council’s Cultural Services Team to support the year-long project of education and exploration surrounding the Windrush generation.

First officially recognised as a day of celebration in 2017, Windrush Day takes place on 22 June each year to mark the anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948. According to records, the ship was carrying 1,027 passengers, 802 of whom gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean; additional documented countries of residence are India, Pakistan, Kenya and South Africa.

The museum is inviting local people to join it on Mansfield Market Place on Wednesday 22 June to learn about, recognise and thank all those who arrived on Empire Windrush, and their descendants, for their contributions towards Britain’s from the Second World War and  ever since.

The event will centre around a music and dance performance from Distant Drums as Mansfield Marketplace will come alive with the sounds and soul of the Caribbean – from Ska to calypso and grime to reggae.

Cultural Services manager Sian Booth said: “Through this funding, Mansfield residents will be encouraged to learn more about the area’s black history and celebrate the local and national contribution made by the Windrush generation through a new temporary exhibition at Mansfield Museum called It Runs Through Us.

“The project will collate and give profile to existing research by Black History Ambassadors as well as undertake research to unearth hidden black history locally.”

A celebration on Windrush Day will kick start the project followed by a temporary exhibition. The exhibition will conclude with a celebration event with representatives from a cross section of Mansfield’s diverse communities. This event will acknowledge the vital contribution of immigration to the local economy and public services and the rich diversity of Mansfield’s communities over time.

Coun Stuart Richardson, portfolio holder for Regeneration and Growth, added: “Windrush Day highlights the amazing legacy of the Windrush Generation to British society. Following the Second World War, the UK was in urgent need of repair. The Windrush Generation came over, largely from the Caribbean, to undertake a variety of jobs with the purpose of rebuilding the nation.

“These jobs included the production of steel, coal, iron, and food, as well as roles in running public transport and staffing the National Health Service (NHS). Windrush Day also shines a light on how the Windrush Generation laid the foundations for the Black British society we know today”.

The museum is appealing for people with stories to tell about the Windrush generation to get in touch to preserve the heritage for years to come.

The museum is also looking for residents who have an interest in black history, Caribbean culture or allyship to join as Black History Ambassadors for this project. You don’t have to be of African or Caribbean heritage or a history buff.

Contact Sian on 01623 412951 or [email protected] to get involved.