Book review - Mother Country: Real Stories Of The Windrush Children Edited By Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff

On 22 June 2022 Britain held its national Windrush Day marking 74 years since the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. It is a day to remember the generation of people largely from the Caribbean who came to the UK by invitation to help rebuild Britain in the aftermath of World War Two. Many books, and documentaries have been made about the Windrush generation, and the arrival of the Windrush was even included in the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012. It could be argued that the idea of Windrush has become part of Britain’s modern mythology alongside suffragettes, the world wars, and the NHS. Unfortunately in recent years more focus has been paid to the Windrush generation due to the Windrush scandal, and the horrendous way they were treated by the government. Mother Country is an anthology edited by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff compiling 22 essays spanning the last 74 years in its scope. Many, but not all, of the essays included are written by Brinkhurst-Cuff as the contributors told her their stories. It is a preservation of Windrush stories not only from members of the Windrush generation themselves, but their children and grandchildren too. This is particularly important as given the advanced age of many of those who originally came over these stories will soon pass out of living memory.

While it covers a wide range of stories, this book values the perspective and experiences of women in a very conscious way. In her own essay Brinkhurst-Cuff confirms as much, writing that the popular narrative surrounding the Windrush is that it brought men, many of whom were ex-servicemen, to Britain looking for work. Her focus on women is an intentional attempt to address that imbalance. She points out that this is by no means a unique phenomenon to Windrush, and that women’s stories often get edited out of history. According Brinkhurst-Cuff, Mother Country is in part an attempt to remember that women came here, worked, and started new lives for themselves too. This focus on the women of Windrush is well deserved as the women featured, or written about are often the backbone of their families. Reading about the struggles, and sacrifices these women made, and the respect and love their children, and grandchildren have for them was at times moving. Taken as a whole this book is a prime example of why the personal stories of the women of Windrush need to documented for future generations to provide an alternative to the mainstream voice of history.

While the stories included detail the lives of different people and families, there are certain recurring themes that come up throughout. One of the clearest ones is the need to remember your roots. Many of the contributors, particularly the younger ones, talk about the significance of trips to the Caribbean, both to visit family that still live there, and to get a greater appreciation of what their parents, or grandparents left behind upon coming to Britain. There is a sense from some of the younger contributors that they are aware that thanks to the passing of time, they are the last generation that will have such a direct connection to the Caribbean. There seems to be a need to learn as much as possible while they still can, as soon that connection will be gone, and any untold stories will be lost. Along those lines the importance of food and music as vehicles to preserve and pass down cultural identity are emphasized throughout. As an outsider looking in, these essays gave me valuable insight into a culture that’s not my own. To give but one example I learned about the importance and ubiquity of the Caribbean front room as a point of pride, a social and community hub, and a place of refuge from the racism encountered in public.

The racism the Windrush generation and their descendants experienced, and more specifically the Windrush scandal, undoubtedly casts long shadows over this book. The scandal in particular has had a devastating effect on the lives of many of the Windrush generation, but it doesn’t really come up that much throughout. While it was mentioned a few times, for such a huge event it doesn’t receive that much attention. Instead most of the stories included focus more on family, and succeeding at building rich full lives in Britain. This is a book centred primarily on celebrating Black joy, rather than mourning Black pain. The racism the contributors faced and continue to face is written about but usually briefly here and there in passing. It’s treated for the most part as an obstacle to be overcome and nothing more, with the casual racism the contributors experienced mostly described casually. This is not to say that this book is about dismissing or ignoring the reality of racism or collective Black trauma, just that racism is treated like an everyday part of life. The importance of celebrating Black joy wherever possible like this cannot be over stated, especially with a media landscape where pain and trauma is most of the time the default focus for Black stories. The struggle the Windrush generation, and their descendants faced and continue to face to this day is real, but it does not define them. In a world where tone policing, code switching, and the focus on Black pain and trauma is commonplace, the act of celebrating black joy is itself an act of resistance.

This focus on the success of the Windrush generation continues for about the first three quarters of the book. While there is some variation, this book is mostly interested in how the Windrush generation put down roots in the UK, and built homes and legacies that will live beyond them. Then you turn the page and reach the essay titled Deport Her. Deport Her comes from Myrna Simpson as told to Brinkhurst-Cuff. Simpson talks about how on 28 July 1993 police and immigration officers went to her daughter Joy Gardner’s flat and restrained her with handcuffs, a body belt, leg irons, and 13 feet of surgical tape wrapped around her head suffocating her. The injuries she suffered at their brutality led to her death in a hospital bed four days later. After essays about the discovery of family histories, the continuation of cultural traditions, and the highlighting of Black excellence and perseverance this essay was a sudden shock to the system. I could probably have made this entire review about this one essay and my reaction to it if I’d tried. As a reader, the way Simpson describes the raid, the violence enacted, and the four days she spent at her daughter’s side essentially waiting for her to slowly die was like getting a glass of ice cold water thrown in my face. Simpson could actually smell her daughter rotting, and had to sleep on the hospital floor. After reading this essay I once again faced the uncomfortable truth of my white privilege as I had never heard of Joy Gardner’s death and was left wondering why not? I know a direct comparison doesn’t work due to the differences around the circumstances but I’ve known about the murder of Stephen Lawrence for years yet I had never heard or read Joy Gardner’s name once. When I asked myself why? I recognised this is largely due to my own ignorance. Thinking about how many other needless deaths there have been and how many other names there are that I’ve never heard is a sobering thought that struck me as hard as this essay.

To conclude this piece, Mother Country is a book which as many people should read as possible, particularly anyone with any interest in learning more about the Windrush generation. At times it feels like the idea of Windrush is promoted in Britain rather than the reality of it. Windrush has almost become part of the story Britain tells itself about its history to avoid the more uncomfortable parts. Just as we celebrate abolition, and downplay Britain’s role in the slave trade that led to it, we celebrate Windrush, and downplay the centuries of colonialism that led to it. The truth, as this book shows, is that the Windrush generation were not just some black and white photos of people getting off ships in the 1940’s. They were, and still are, real people who lived real rich lives building and impacting the communities around them. The Windrush generation and their descendants are thriving despite hostility from the very people they came here to help, and in the case of the Windrush scandal outright rejection from the country that invited them. Theirs are stories worth remembering and recording and this book does exactly that.

You can buy this book here: https://tinyurl.com/mwd8ntrv