Walk Good

Story: Jenson Grant, Photos: Camille Daughma

As a filmmaker and digital artist, I had always been interested in looking into the past, especially when I see a gap.

A few years ago, I was in the local studies part of Sheffield Libraries with a group of school children. We were surprised there was very little information about the arrival of African-Caribbean migrants to Sheffield after the War.

So in 2006, with some fellow artists, we conceived Burngreave Oral History Project. With support from Arts Council England, Sheffield City Council and the “Off the Shelf” Festival, we started to record Caribbean migrants’ stories and create a performance that celebrated their history.

Myself, writer Dee Reynolds, Nycha Creations and Khula Arts worked with a bunch of enthusiastic children at SADACCA Study Support scheme to create a night of live performance. The event was a great success!

2008 is the 60th anniversary of the Windrush's arrival and the ship itself has an interesting story. Built in Germany as the ‘Monte Rosa’, she was captured from the Nazis in 1945. Renamed ‘Empire Windrush’, she brought the first Caribbean migrants to British shores in June 1948.

Although Caribbean migrants didn't all come over on the Windrush, her arrival was symbolic. It marked the start of a truly ‘multicultural’ Britain. When my parents arrived, they faced many obstacles. However, today's generation has come a long way. We have diversified into teachers, politicians, business owners and even filmmakers! We have become an integral part of this city's culture.

Stories about our past connect us to experiences that describe who we are. That's why, on 26th October 2008, at 6.30pm at SADACCA, we are at it again. Walk Good is a live arts event to celebrate the mark that people from the Caribbean have made on Sheffield. It will be a night of dance, drama, poetry and food – because we all need the gaps in our stories filled! Everyone is welcome.