Essential information
| Type |
Talks and tours
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Date and times | Wednesday 29 July 2026 | 1pm |
| Prices | Free |
Beyond Windrush: Rethinking Caribbean mobility, Maritime Histories and Belonging
Join Dr Juanita Cox to hear about her fascinating research into the Museum's collections on Windrush.
This talk reframes the familiar Windrush narrative by situating the 1948 voyage within a much longer, more complex history of Caribbean mobility, maritime labour, and contested belonging.
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Drawing on research conducted at the National Maritime Museum, it traces the journeys of passengers and stowaways who travelled to Britain before and after the HMT Empire Windrush, revealing how economic hardship, imperial citizenship, labour schemes, and global shipping networks shaped movement across the Atlantic.
Archival material – from voyage reports to newspaper accounts – exposes both the agency of Caribbean migrants and the contradictions of British policy, which alternately welcomed and criminalised them.
By examining lesser‑known ships, stowaway practices, and the political interventions of Caribbean leaders, the talk challenges origin myths and highlights the diversity of experiences that constitute “Windrush”. It argues for a more nuanced, transnational understanding of Black British history that recognises complexity, continuity, and the voices of descendant communities.
Attending the talk: Dr Juanita Cox will be giving her talk in the 'Crossings' display in the Orangery of the Queen's House. You can access this via the South staircase of the building.
About Dr Juanita Cox
Dr Juanita Cox is Community Engagement Researcher on the three‑year AHRC‑funded project Voices in Slavery’s Archive at the University of Edinburgh.
She previously conducted a two‑phase Windrush Collections scoping project at the National Maritime Museum and co‑curated the landmark exhibition In the Grip of Change: The Caribbean and its British Diaspora (2024–25) at Senate House Library.
A former Research Fellow on the project The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context, she is also a leading authority on Guyanese writer Edgar Mittelholzer. Dr Cox is a trustee of the Oral History Society, co‑founder of Guyana SPEAKS, and co‑editor of the journal Black Histories: Dialogues.
Salons in the Queen's House
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This event is part of our Salons series, a programme of talks inspired by the history of the Queen's House and its collections.
The term ‘salon’ was used historically to describe social gatherings in the domestic sphere. Participation was open to a range of individuals, and women often acted as hosts. Salons were alternative spaces for learning, debate and the exchange of ideas. We continue to explore this tradition at the Queen’s House.
Speakers at our salons include artists, researchers, curators and creative practitioners. Their talks bring to light new insights and share different perspectives.
Windrush Day 2026
A day of creative workshops, informative talks and discussion at the National Maritime Museum exploring the significance of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush and the legacies of the Windrush generation
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