Windrush Day celebrations in Birmingham to honour renowned poet Benjamin Zephaniah
Poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah is to be honoured posthumously at Windrush Day celebrations in Birmingham.
Centenary Square in Birmingham will host a festival this Saturday, featuring a main stage dedicated to the memory of the esteemed writer and BBC's Peaky Blinders star.
The Handsworth native writer, Benjamin Zephaniah, passed away in December, just eight weeks following a brain tumour diagnosis at the age of 65.
The day's events, commemorating the 76th Windrush Day, will include a series of performances, culminating with a musical showcase by Wassifa Showcase.
The stage, named in honour of Benjamin Zephaniah, will be opened by Reverend Canon Eve Pitts, followed by a recite of one of Zephaniah's poems by poet and television host Sue Brown.
The Blackstory Partnership has organised the event, which will feature the hoisting of the Windrush flag and a vibrant carnival procession with as many as 90 dancers. The festivities are set to take place in Birmingham's Centenary Square.
In 2018, the government announced 22 June as National Windrush Day to commemorate the arrival of Caribbean citizens from Jamaica and other islands who landed at Tilbury Docks in London aboard the SS Empire Windrush in 1948.
Post-World War Two, these nations, still under British governance, heeded the call to assist in rebuilding Britain, then referred to as the "mother country."
Zephaniah often spoke about the importance of the history and contribution of the Windrush generation, releasing his novel Windrush Child in 2020.