Britain’s history of mistreating asylum seekers & the Windrush

Join us to hear from Dr Ama Biney as part of the programme for Black History Month alongside the exhibtion.

The British public has become accustomed to seeing images of flimsy boats perilously making their way across the Mediterranean Sea for Britain. Such boats are largely filled with black and brown bodies who the British government recently declared will have their asylum application processed in the East African country of Rwanda. These individuals continue to be treated unfairly, just as the Windrush Generation have been obstructed in seeking compensation for denial of their British citizenship, despite the Home Office having destroying their landing cards. Dr Ama Biney will argue that the current abuse of asylum seekers and the Windrush Generation must be considered within a historical context of the British government’s disdain for the racialised “other” that goes back to 1596 and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as the 1787 catastrophic Sierra Leone resettlement scheme. In looking at the past we can see how it informs the present and shapes the future.