How Windrush children helped shape Wolverhampton

"We pushed barriers, we went into spaces where we weren't welcome and we did it unapologetically."

Pasvill Lummer, author of The Unapologetic Generation: Youth, Identity and Change in Wolverhampton 1960-1980, migrated from Jamaica as a child in the 1960s.

In the book, he tells the story of how his peers helped shape Wolverhampton into the city it is today.

"Today's diverse city did not simply appear. It has been shaped over decades by successive generations of people making Wolverhampton their home and contributing to its economic, social and cultural life," he said.

"A lot has been written about, and quite rightly so, the Windrush generation.

"I felt there wasn't much written about my generation. We were absent from the landscape."

For the book, the 74-year-old community activist interviewed 20 people who, like him, had Caribbean roots and grew up in Wolverhampton between the 1960s and 1980s.

He reflected on what it was like settling into his new home in the city.

"Most people of my generation came to the UK on British Overseas Airways Corporation flights - we didn't come on a ship.

"When I came here, municipal accommodation wasn't accessible to our community.

"It was common for us to live in multi-occupancy houses. You'd have maybe three or four families living in one house."

"It was in the 1970s, when the Blakenhall and Heath Town estates were developed, that a lot of Black people started moving into council properties of their own," Plummer said.

He added that the challenges he and his peers faced were often not something their parents could relate to.

"We are the children who came here, went to school, experienced discrimination and prejudice, and had to navigate those challenges as young people.

"Our parents came here to work, and they just worked, went to church and then went home.

"They didn't have to go into white spaces unless they were going to work, but we went into clubs and spaces that people didn't want us to be in."

During this period, the author said West Park, Central Boys' Club, YMCA and The Saints Youth Club became social hubs for the community, providing safe spaces where young people could meet.

"The generation was not simply adapting to Wolverhampton. It was also helping to change Wolverhampton," he said.

As they grew from children into young adults, venues such as The Queen's Ballroom, The Catacombs and Lafayette became known as "the place to be", where they mixed with other revellers.

Plummer recalled: "Wolverhampton used to be a premier place for entertainment. Coaches used to come from Lichfield, Coventry, Birmingham and Stafford on a Monday night to go to The Queen's.

"Monday night was the night because we used to have lots of American stars, groups and artists who appeared on Top of the Pops performing there.

"At the Gaumont Cinema, I saw the Motown tour with Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder."

However, Plummer said getting into some of those nightclubs was not always easy, and having white friends often helped.

While the book explores the barriers the generation had to overcome, the he said that was only part of the story. It also focuses on a generation characterised by resilience, ambition, self-help and an increasing determination to create opportunities.

"This is not simply a Black or Caribbean story. It is a Wolverhampton story," he added.

He said his generation became part of the changing social fabric of the city.

Over time, its members established careers, businesses and families. They also became involved in community and public life.

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