The Queen has praised the Windrush “pioneers” for their “profound contribution” to British life as a statue to them was unveiled on Windrush Day at Waterloo Station. The Government funded £1 statue, designed by Basil Watson, depicts a man, woman and child standing on top of suitcases and pays tribute to the thousands of people who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971.
However, there has been negative reaction to the statue. Activist Prof Gus John, in an open letter to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, declining an invitation to the unveiling described it as “a monument to unforgivable political illiteracy and an entrenched colonial mindset. The entire Windrush narrative distorts the history of Caribbean engagement with Britain and of Britain’s relentless efforts to keep us out”.
Windrush survivor and campaigner Glenda Caesar said: “I knew nothing about the unveiling and wasn’t asked to attend. I can understand that it represents the people who came in via that station in 1948 but this does nothing to help the people, like myself, who suffered under this scandal and are labelled as the Windrush generation.”
Jacqueline McKenzie, partner and head of immigration at Leigh Day, a firm representing more than 300 people affected by the Windrush scandal, decided not to participate in the Waterloo statue unveiling “whilst justice is being denied to thousands of victims.”
