A Time to Remember aims to educate people in Kent about the impact that Caribbean migrants have had in the UK.
Oliver Leader de Saxe reports.
Oliver Leader de Saxe reports.
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00:00So without any further ado, I want to declare, declare the exhibition officially open.
00:11The legacy of the Windrush generation still alive here in Kent.
00:16Around half a million people emigrated from the Caribbean in the 20 years after the Second
00:22World War, building new lives here in the county and beyond.
00:27Now a new exhibition at the historic Chatham Dockyard seeks to celebrate that first generation,
00:3440 years on from the beginnings of the Medway African and Caribbean Association.
00:40I know a lot of the local people are very proud of the exhibition because it tells the
00:45history of their struggles and what they've been through and what they've achieved.
00:50And especially a lot of the younger people in Medway, they get to see that there's a
00:55foundation like MACA here that they can turn to and learn and come along and join and be
01:02a part of.
01:03So yes, it's very, very important for us to honour the local people and let them have
01:11their own exhibition, let them have something.
01:13The first thing you notice when you walk into this exhibition are these.
01:17The shackles that used to chain slaves on a Florida plantation in the 1600s.
01:23This exhibition isn't just about Windrush, it's the entirety of black history, the good,
01:29the bad and the ugly.
01:31Over my shoulder you can see a section on African civilisation, of the cultures that
01:37existed before British slave galleys arrived on the African coast.
01:42And over here are the living rooms, the kitchens, the places that people used to live when they
01:47came here from 1948 to 1971 to help Britain rebuild.
01:53And this exhibition hopes to educate people here in Medway about the importance of recognising
01:58that legacy and that past.
02:01Our story doesn't necessarily begin and end in slavery and oppression.
02:05We do face oppression every single day of our lives, but there is so much more about
02:10our story that will help to create better understanding.
02:14So we were and are kings, queens, inventors, politicians, teachers, doctors, nurses.
02:23So many different things and I think it's important for people to learn more about that
02:28so that we can start to address some of the imbalances and perceptions that people might
02:33have about African and Caribbean communities.
02:36The exhibit is open for the next two weeks, but the message is clear.
02:42Medway's black history isn't going anywhere.
02:45Oliver Leader de Sacks for KMTV in Chatham.