Professor Shepherd to deliver Windrush Day lecture

LONDON:

Verene A. Shepherd, historian and professor of social history at the University of the West Indies, Mona, will deliver the annual Windrush Day Lecture hosted by Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester on Sunday, June 22.

The event at the Studio Box, Bowling Green Street, Leicester, will be the fifth in the series after it was first staged in 2020 when Professor Stephen Small delivered the inaugural lecture.

The Windrush Day Lecture was established out of a need for in-depth analysis and contextualisation amid revelatory movements and events, such as Black Lives Matter, Brexit, the Windrush Scandal, the detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on black communities and the divisive rhetoric about immigration to Britain.

Each year Serendipity Arts hands the microphone to esteemed thinkers, writers and educators to reflect on the construct of Windrush, add truth to the story of black presence, persistence and resistance in the UK and unpack the reality behind British-Caribbean connections.

This year, Serendipity Arts welcomes Professor Shepherd, in a special visit to Britain, to deliver the lecture titled: ‘They called me n****r: The Historical Roots of Literary Protest by Caribbean Immigrants in Britain’.

Drawing inspiration from Una Marson, a pioneering poet and foundational figure in Black British literature, Professor Shepherd will explore how Caribbean immigrants used literature in the face of racism and marginalisation.

From the struggles of early migrants to the ongoing reverberations of the Windrush Scandal, this talk reveals how storytelling, poetry and performance became acts of defiance and instruments of survival for those navigating life in an unwelcoming Britain, a release outlined.

ACTIVIST-SCHOLAR

Professor Shepherd is a sought-after public speaker on issues such as human rights, the enslavement of Africans, reparation, labour, migration and gender.

She has spoken frequently about the Windrush Scandal in Britain and the harm caused to those who emigrated to Britain, as well as the continuing harm to the Caribbean. As an activist-scholar, Professor Shepherd continues to advocate for reparation and equality for the Caribbean and the ongoing repercussions of the Windrush Scandal.

In addition to being professor of social history at the University of the West Indies, she is also chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and one of the leading voices calling for restorative justice for the Caribbean.

Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage has established a legacy through hosting and growing a living archive, documenting Black arts, heritage and culture, publishing the voices of Black arts practitioners and community activists, nurturing artists to create high quality new work, and mentoring young people.

Its programme of activities includes the flagship dance festival, Let’s Dance International Frontiers (LDIF), the Annual Windrush Day Lecture and Black History Month Leicester (BHM).