Hackney’s Windrush Generations Festival returns with a bumper line up of community-funded events

A Town Hall Square market, screenings by the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, an event celebrating the Windrush Line’s renaming at Dalston Station, plus a music and poetry showcase event at Hackney Empire, will comprise Hackney’s Windrush Day 2025 celebrations on Sunday 22 June.

The day is part of Windrush Festival 2025, a month-long celebration of events and activities honouring the contribution of the Windrush generation to life in Hackney and across the UK. 

Funded by Hackney’s Windrush Microgrant Scheme, nine community groups, organisations, schools, and artists will deliver events and activities throughout June that preserve or expand the legacy of the Windrush generation, including:

- An intergenerational workshop on how to document your family history led by award-winning young author Romeo Bremmer

- A community impact day of screenings and discussions with Windrush survivors hosted by Hollywood actor Colin MacFarlane for Justice4Windrush 

- The Black Burlesque School exploring the Windrush legacy through movement, food and performance 

- Allens Community Garden’s Growing Your Own Caribbean Vegetables course

- Under Your Nose: UK Black LGBTQIA+Activist Histories film screening and Q&A  

This year’s festival will see contributions from a range of partners, including Arriva Rail, the Windrush Foundation and Young Hackney, who are hosting events at Dalston Station to celebrate the renaming of the Windrush Line, and V&A East, who are offering a micro-residency in their revolutionary new archive to Windrush descendant artist Jazz Grant - recipient of the 2025 Windrush Amplified Art Grant. The full festival programme is available on Love Hackney.

Hackney will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song Let’s Make Africa Green Again, written by the British Reggae Artist Famine Appeal - which became Hackney’s answer to Live Aid in 1985 - with a song-producing workshop for young residents led by Jermain Jackman from Rising Tide.

Cllr Carole Williams, Hackney Cabinet Member with responsibility for Equalities and Windrush, said: “I am very proud to announce this engaging line-up of events and activities that showcase both the history and talent of our borough. These incredible community-led projects help us appreciate the breadth of the Windrush story and how this account of injustice has had an impact across continents, class, and age. By understanding the Windrush experience, through this lens, we are offered a richer, more authentic story for future generations.”

Cllr Chris Kennedy, Hackney Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Leisure and Culture, said: “This year’s Windrush Day programme and Windrush Festival is bigger than ever before. Working alongside so many of our cultural partners truly helps us deliver a rich programme of events for everyone. With such a fantastic range of activities on offer there is more opportunity than ever to learn, share and preserve the true history of Windrush for this generation and the next.”

Patricia Hamzahee OBE, Co-Founder and Director of the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, said:  "The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival is committed to telling the stories that educate, inspire, and reflect the Black British and Caribbean experience. This year, with the generous support of Hackney Council, we are proud to bring our celebration of history, identity, and creativity to one of the UK’s most culturally vibrant boroughs. Hackney’s commitment to heritage, diversity, and community makes it a natural partner for WCFF, and we are excited to share this year’s programme with residents and audiences from across the country."

Originally launched in 2019, the Windrush Generations Festival runs every year throughout June, as part of Hackney Council’s commitment to celebrate Black culture and history, honour the Windrush Generation, and provide support for those affected by the Windrush scandal.

Visit Love Hackney for the full programme of events which includes learning resources and info from Hackney’s Windrush Generations Festival over the years.