Derbyshire exhbition shares tales of heartbreak, racism and celebration in West Indian community

Six decades of the Derby West Indian Community Association are documented in the exhibition at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

It shares Windrush generation memories alongside stories and experiences from the association’s members who settled and grew up in Derby. It also celebrates the vibrancy and spirit of the Derby Caribbean Carnival and the local, national and international connections that make this the highlight of the city’sc cultural calendar every summer.

Adam Slater, elders’ officer at the association, who has collected the oral histories for the exhibition, said: “There are so many moving stories about how and why people came from the Caribbean to Derby – the heart-breaking decisions they had to make in leaving home, the difficulties that they faced and how time and again they triumphed in the face of adversity.

“We also hear from great achievers who have made Derby their home, from international stars like legendary West Indian cricketer Michael Holding to local icons like Devon Daley who hosts his own show on BBC Radio Derby.

“A lot of the stories will bring a tear to your eye, but they provide a real insight into what Caribbeans who made England their home had to go through and how organisations like DWICA provided much-needed support.”

The cast of characters telling their stories include Olga Marr, one of seven Percy sisters from Jamaica that all ended up training to be nurses at the now-closed Derby Royal Infirmary, and Joyce Mitchell, 86, who travelled over to Derby for an arranged marriage to an older admirer.

Some of the stories provide the painful realisation that England, the land of opportunity, was also England, the land of racism. Beatrice Phillips, 91, tells of the difficulty finding housing in the 1960s and how white residents would work together to stop black families from moving onto their street.

The exhibition and oral histories celebrate the cultural achievements of the West Indian community in Derby. Egerton Perry remembers his younger years as a ‘selector’ in a reggae sound clash group and Samantha Hudson recounts her personal journey involved with Derby’s Caribbean Carnival.

Running until September 4, the exhibition is free to enter.