Anna Boyne
The Windrush myth was created in the 90s. But so were huge parts of British culture that continue to have an enduring legacy today. It became a decade defined by cultural co-creation.
Roots in Boots
A perfect example of intermingling migrant and British traditions was ‘Roots in Boots,’ a Jamaican spin on the classic Cinderella story. The panto’s writer and director Ansell Broderick wanted to inject “flava, a Caribbean flava.”
Impact no. 126 Greasepaint
Impact reviewer Kate Allen said: “The cast are certainly spicy, and plenty of bumping and grinding goes on, set to a soundtrack of swing, jungle and R ‘n’ B.”
“Traditional English pantomime is based on wordy slanging matches where the audience’s catcalls are welcomed, as they would never usually would be in a British theatre. But Jamaican panto, which has influenced Broderick greatly, relies more on gestures and miming.”
The cast “are all locals and were recruited through public auditions which were advertised among the local communities of Radford and Lenton.”
“As a light-hearted satire of a standard pantomime it works a treat- just watch out for that hot pepper sauce.”
Blaxploitation
Black culture has imagined itself “as a counterstatement to American culture/civilization, or Western culture/civilization.” Hortense J Spillers (2006)
That was certainly the case for the 70s Hollywood sub-genre ‘blaxploitation’ which deliberated targeted African American audiences through challenging tired racist stereotypes.
Blaxploitation storylines generally revolved around black men and women winning one over the white system. In doing so it brought black actors into the foreground of the narrative action in a way not previously seen in Hollywood, which tended to consign them to the role of victim or servant.
Impact no. 110 May 1998
In May 1998, Impact writer David Smyth wrote ‘Black to Front: A Brief History of Blaxploitation.’ Thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, the 70s cinematic sub-genre was “enjoying a well-deserved revival.”
He writes: “Blaxploitation was the unusual collective name for the first films made entirely by, for and about black Americans. But let’s not get all serious. Admittedly the white man was almost always presented a villainous and corrupt, but he was punished with a thorough ass-kicking, not a Malcolm X speech.”
Iconic Blaxploitation films ‘Dolemite’, ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song’ and ‘Tupac Shakur’ were being released for the first time in Britain at the time Impact’s David Smyth was writing- testament to its 90s revival.
A few months later, Impact spotlighted iconic 70s Blaxploitation film ‘Foxy Brown’ starring Pam Grier.
Impact no. 113 September 1998
“Quintessentially cool, she is a brash, sexy, principled woman who is not afraid to douse smack-dealing Hillybilly rapists in gasoline and set them aflame.”
“Not only does she kick some serious ass, but she looks absolutely fantastic whilst doing it. This is the big draw of Blaxploitation films, aside from their kitsch value, apart from the impossibly funky soundtracks: they look amazing.”
Anonymous Impact writer Z Girl signs off: “Buy it, borrow it, watch it! It’s just too cool.” 2025 update: rent for £3.49 on Apple and Prime, or free on Daily Motion.
The Marcus Garvey
More locally, the Marcus Garvey Centre in Lenton was a huge music venue for 90s UoN students.
Impact writer Adam Mitchell took a deep dive into ‘The Garvey: past, present and future.’ He highlights the venue’s namesake Marcus Garvey, a national Jamaican hero and pioneer for black rights.
Impact no. 126
“The Ballroom [another name for the venue] is well renowned as one of Britain’s most individual underground venues. The jewel in the crown of Nottingham’s alternative entertainment scene, the Lenton Boulevard dance hall has had a long and colourful history.”
The building was originally commissioned by one of the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer’s, Nottingham’s Raleigh, as a ballroom for its largely black workforce. After the company downsized, the venue became a community centre- a “hub for sports teams, social welfare, West Indian dominoes players and music.”
From 1989, the Garvey started welcoming Nottingham students for dance, techno, house, drum and bass, and hip-hop nights out. The rest of the community centre continued to provide facilities for disabled people, education groups and social clubs.
In February 1998, it welcomed the legendary DJ Carl Cox- a second generation Windrusher, born in greater Manchester to Barbadian parents and widely regarded as a pioneer of electronic music.
Impact no. 100 February 1997
Impact reviewer Ben Marshall said: “His talent is crushingly obvious. Fifteen minutes into the set and your brain does reel at how magnificent the sound of 3 deck mixing is in the hands of someone as fluid this.”
“The music was a superb, a speedy blend of techno, trance, and hard house.”
While it’s no longer a go-to student music venue, the Marcus Garvey is currently facing imminent closure. In December 2024, Nottingham City Council ordered the centre to close, citing fire risks in the building.
A petition against its closure has garnered over 12,000 signatures.
Black Community Action Group say: “For over 40 years, the Marcus Garvey Centre, Ballroom & Day Centre has stood as a beacon of cultural pride, unity, and empowerment for Nottingham’s Afro-Caribbean, African, South Asian, and wider diverse communities.”
“Instead of ensuring its continued success, the Council has imposed restrictive barriers that prevent vital repairs and services. Even more concerning are indications that the Council is seeking to sell the property, putting at risk the well-being of vulnerable groups, including the elderly of the Windrush Generation, and jeopardising a cherished community cornerstone.”
The community centre has since spent £5000 trying to get it back up and running, without any concrete long-term plans in place.
The concept of a ‘Windrush Generation’ only came into existence in 1998. Previous articles in this project have discussed its more problematic elements, such as oversimplification and exclusion of non-archetypal migrants.
Yet the Marcus Garvey is a clear example of the unifying power of ‘Windrush.’ Protecting their community centre, an important space of cultural co-creation, becomes of utmost importance to preserving black migrant heritage of the ‘Windrush Generation.’
Anna Boyne
This article is part of a series examining how UoN print media fit or contradicted the Windrush narrative. To read the other articles, please click the tag ‘Windrush Project’ below.
Best efforts have been made to contact the original authors who retain copyright. If they come forward and would like articles to be removed, then they will be taken down.
Other articles in this series…
- How Impact Told the Windrush Story
- British Segregation: The Colour Bar
- Out, Out, Disembowel Enoch Powel!
- The Colour of Justice: Stephen Lawrence
Bibliography
Primary sources
Impact no. 100 February 1998: The Cox Factor: FACT 2 Tour @ The Marcus Garvey Centre.
Impact no. 110 May 1998: Black to front.
Impact no. 113 September 1998: Foxy Brown.
Impact no. 126: Greasepaint.
Impact no. 126: Ballroom dancing.
Secondary sources
Buchanan, I. A Dictionary of Critical Theory (Oxford, 2018).
Spillers, H., ‘The Idea of Black Culture’, The New Centennial Review 6/3 (Michigan, 2006).
