Caribbean Elders in Hackney

This resource will help families, teachers, and students to learn more about the Windrush generation, particularly the experiences of Caribbean elders who settled in Hackney, London from the 1950s. The resource includes four pages, PDF format of individual oral history account of Caribbean elders. Information is suitable for different key stages and curriculum requirements. Black parents at home can use the resource to help educate their children further about their heritage, giving them a better sense of identity and belonging. Parents from diverse communities can use it to find similar values and shared experiences. This resource is firmly rooted in the tradition of oral storytelling, and teachers can use it in the classroom and for home schooling to support drama and media studies.

In 2008 Tuareg Production produced a series of workshops in Hackney, interviewing some of Hackney’s Caribbean elders from islands including Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, and Trinidad. The workshops held at the Marie Lloyd Day Centre, William Morris Caribbean Centre, Hackney Museum, and the Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation. The elders reminisced and shared experiences from as early as 1954 when they first settled in the area. Their recollections and memories form the basis for the adaption of the Living Under One Roof stage play, set in Hackney by Lorna Holder. Hackney Museum, in 2008 did an exhibition, Living Under One Roof, Windrush, and beyond, which covered all aspects of life for the first generation of Caribbean migrant workers. Finally, the Living Under One Roof – Windrush and beyond education resource pack for primary schools in Hackney, launched at a prestigious event at the House of Lords hosted by prominent peers Baroness Amos and Baroness Howells, produced by The Hackney Learning Trust and Lorna Holder.