When is Windrush Day 2020 and how is the date marked in the UK?

Windrush Day falls on June 22 each year.

The day honours the British Caribbean community, and the half a million people who travelled to the UK after the Second World War.

The first Windrush Day was held in 2018.

More people than ever before will take part this year to support the Windrush Generation, and show sympathy with the hardships they have endured.

When is Windrush Day 2020?

Windrush Day 2020 is on Monday, June 22.

This new day, which began two years ago, is aimed at celebrating the Caribbean community and their contributions to British society

On June 22, 1949 – 71 years ago – several hundred people arrived from the Caribbean to live in Britain.

After World War Two, Caribbean people who had served in the British armed forces were encouraged to come to Britain and help to rebuild the UK.

Many boarded a ship called the HMT Empire Windrush.

It is estimated that around 500,000 people living in the UK are part of the Windrush Generation, who arrived between 1948 and 1971.

What happened during the Windrush scandal?

Many of the migrants who travelled from the Caribbean to the UK faced discrimination and racism in Britain.

In 2018 it emerged that the Conservative government had told some members of the Windrush generation they were living in Britain illegally.

Although many people had lived and worked in Britain for most of their lives, law changes required them to have official documents to have access to healthcare.

Some people who had lost their official documents or were unable to provide them were sent to immigration detention centres. At least 83 people were wrongfully deported.

The scandal led to the resignation of then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and prompted a wider debate about British immigration and deportation policy.

What events are happening this year to mark the date?

There will be a live poetry event during the evening celebrating the Windrush Generation. The Black Culture archives will be performing live poetry on their Instagram page from 7 to 8pm, in partnership with youth charity Poetic Unity.

There will also be an online screening of the documentary “Daughter of the Windrush” from Blackburne house, working with the Museum of Liverpool – which examines stories told by daughters and granddaughters of Liverpool’s Windrush Generation.

Serendipity will host a lecture called Windrush Day Lecture: Where are we now? Between 6 and 8pm, with tickets costing £5.

Lambeth residents are invited to join a sing-along to Desmond Dekker’s song You can get it if you really want on their doorsteps on Windrush day.