The University of Westminster recognises the importance of Windrush Day on Thursday 22 June.
The day marks the anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948 with many Caribbean passengers onboard, and acknowledge the sacrifices and contributions both the Windrush generation and their descendants have made to British Society.
Mykaell Riley oversees creation of Windrush 75 Top 20 Spotify playlist to celebrate Windrush anniversary
Mykaell Riley, Reader, Director for the Black Music Research Unit (BMRU) and Principal Investigator for Bass Culture Research at the University of Westminster, has overseen the creation of The Top 20 playlist on Spotify, compiled by the Windrush 75 Network.
The project is part of the Windrush 75 Network’s initiatives to bring organisations together for the 75th anniversary celebration on 22 June. The Network aims to broaden public recognition of the original Windrush Pioneers, as well as increasing public understanding of the history of race and migration to Britain across the decades. The playlist showcases the contribution and the impact the Windrush generation and their descendants had on music and popular culture in the UK.
Read more on our news page and the Windrush 75 webpage.
Listen to the Windrush 75 Top 20 playlist on Spotify or on Virgin Radio, hosted by Mykaell Riley.
Further information and resources
- About Black History Year
The University of Westminster’s Black History Year (BHY) showcases our commitment to Black lived and living experiences by reflecting the richness of our university – past and present. BHY is a product of the BME Colleague Network.
It's a celebration of Black history, stories, lives, politics, creativity, and achievement. And it is a chance to learn from, and share space with, amazing Black historians, musicians, executives, writers, artists, thinkers, academics and our own alumni.
To this end, we seek to educate, enlighten, inspire and create community – in our organisation and beyond.
- Our events programme
The Black History Year steering group curates' cultural content and the Black History Year blog is a repository of past Black History year events. This is also a place for sharing stories of our colleagues, students and alumni as well as a link to media news, podcasts and programmes that highlight Black voices in arts, culture, politics, social discourse and more.
If you wish to suggest any event ideas, new stories or articles, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected].
Visit the Black History Year webpage or the Black History Year blog for more information, news and events.
Introducing: Black History Year Create, a new decolonised student-focused initiative
The Black History Year (BHY) initiative has allowed us to run many events with prestigious speakers to share their knowledge and insight on topics such as industry specific resilience, creativity and wellbeing.
Whilst the BHY event programme has sparked inspiration and has opened up new routes of collaboration with an extremely connected online community, BHY colleagues wanted to create an initiative specifically for Black students to address disparities in this population. Rather than a one-off event, they wanted a longer-term grassroots initiative to be able to measure cognitive distance travelled, offer support, and create journeys for these students.
What was born from this is a six-month, intensive career-defining programme called ‘Black History Year Create’.
The aim of the programme is to engage with and provide opportunities for Black undergraduate students across the University, focusing on three tenets: building confidence, visibility and individuality as they prepare to transition out of Westminster and into the world of work or further study. This initiative is led with a decolonised approach, taking into account tokenism, microaggressions and systemic racism.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Introducing: Black History Year Beyond Books, a new initiative to explore identity through media
The BHY Beyond Books initiative was launched in April 2023 to provide a space for staff, students and the public to critically review representations of Blackness in the media using discussions and performative dialogue. The first event in the series engaged the audience in a review of Michaela Coel’s ‘I May Destroy You’, described in the press as ‘fearless, frank and provocative’.
The series continues with book and film reviews and is an opportunity to delve deeper into the contributions of Black people to society by exploring the nuances of contemporary Black culture through art and literature.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Introducing: Black History Year Researchers Network, a new initiative to support Black researchers at the University
The BHY Researchers Network was launched in June 2023 to support Black researchers with research skills development.
Research (UKRI 2020-2021, HESA 2020-2021) shows that, overwhelmingly, Black and racially minoritised researchers are less likely to be Principal Investigators, Fellows or Co-Investigators. Similarly, they are less likely to obtain grants, even when calls are firmly centred on their areas of expertise.
To address these issues, BHY, with support from the Research Development Team, is holding a series of events to support Black researchers with the knowledge and skills they need to compete for grants, publish quality papers and deliver impact.
To join the BHY Researchers Network or for more information, please contact [email protected].
Black Lives Matter Commitment Plan
Read the University of Westminster Black Lives Matter Commitment Plan 2022 and look out for our Black Lives Matter Commitment Plan 2023 to be released soon on the Student Hub.
Visit our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion webpage for more information about EDI at Westminster.
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