Farai Chideya Speaks with Actor Delroy Lindo on his Research and Career

Veteran journalist Farai Chideya sat down with actor Delroy Lindo ("Crooklyn," "Malcolm X," "This Christmas") to discuss his recently completed master's thesis on the generation of Jamaican immigrants to the UK post World War II called the Windrush Generation.



In the conversation, Lindo offers some insightful thoughts about the differences between race in the US and the UK and the necessity of films like the one he is looking to create.



Delroy's thoughts on the differences between race in the US and the UK

There's a fundamental difference between the construct of slavery in the United States. The basis of the construct of Black people in relation to the UK is between the colonizer and the colonized...

The UK has not experienced a Civil Rights Movement. The status quo that's deeply embedded is the class system. That has never been challenged in a way that the Civil Rights Movement challenged the status quo. As a result of the status quo never being challenged, the status quo has been able to remain entrenched and certain aspects of racial dynamics have steadfastly remained the same.

On what he plans to do with his research:

It is a research project that was born as a result of research that I was doing for a screenplay I was doing about my mother's life. ...

I'm really excited about the prospect of writing this screen play. My intention is to change the paradigm and to create a feature film that is set in the Windrush era. I want to bring recognition to the forgotten people like my mom whose life meant so much but is not being reflected in the cinema.

Photo Credit: One with Farai

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Kimberly Foster is the founder and editor of For Harriet. Email or Follow @KimberlyNFoster

Delroy Lindo Farai Chideya