Car plant, carnival town and a Caribbean community that tells its own story.
Vauxhall And The Windrush Generation
For much of the 20th century Luton's economy turned around the Vauxhall car works, and the Windrush generation who settled in the town helped keep it running. At Luton's annual Windrush civic ceremony, its mayor has credited them with building up the local economy, particularly at Vauxhall Motors, and with their work in the health service.
That ceremony is now a fixture on the Town Hall steps each year around Windrush Day, organised by the United Luton Caribbean and African Committee and the African-Caribbean Community Development Forum, with steel pans, poetry and a school choir.
Jamaican Voices
Luton's Jamaican community has recorded its own history. From 2010 to 2011 the Jamaican Voices oral history project collected the experiences of people of Jamaican origin living in Luton, to help young people understand the richness of their heritage, and the recordings are kept by Bedfordshire Archives. Groups like the Centre of Hope were set up to support children and young people of African-Caribbean descent in the town.
Carnival Town
Luton's first carnival was in 1976, a smaller event than today. It grew into Luton International Carnival, described as the largest one-day carnival in the UK and second only to Notting Hill. It is produced by the UK Centre for Carnival Arts, based in the town centre, and in 2022 the parade came back to the town centre streets.
Black Luton Today
Luton is a town of many communities, and its African and Caribbean communities are part of its civic life, from the Windrush ceremony to the town's Black History Month programme every October. Black-owned food spots, barbers, salons and brands are part of everyday Luton.
Shop Black-owned businesses in Luton on CashBlack.
Photo Credits
The Vauxhall works in Luton from the air. Photo: Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Luton Town Hall. Photo: Richard Kelly, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons