Black History event at Age UK Wandsworth

Last month, we celebrated Black History with a coffee morning at our new Gwynneth Morgan Day centre, which brought in older people from all over the community. Cake and tea were served with a variety of information available; from bios on famous black Britons from the area such as John Archer; the mayor of Battersea in 1913 and first black Mayor in the UK (originally a photographer with a studio at the south end of Battersea Park Road) to recommended sights to see such as the Clapham South Subterranean Shelter which was used in 1948 as a hostel for the Windrush arrival. Lots of the attendees had known each other but hadn’t seen each other for years- two of the attendees hadn’t seen another for over 25.
There was reminiscing on how the area had changed and developed, with some of the attendees having lived in the borough for over 60 years. Laughter and stories were on what it was like growing up or emigrating to the UK were shared. There were lots of chats about how people had coped over lockdown and some remarked that this was the first event they had been to since.
The event was a success, and we are planning more like this for the future