Knighthood for Windrush Day campaigner

Social commentator, campaigner and cultural historian Patrick Vernon has been awarded a knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours for services to racial equality.

Vernon, who was born in Wolverhampton, led the campaign to establish Windrush Day, which celebrates the contribution of Caribbean migrants and their families to the UK.

His family still live in Wolverhampton, is also a former associate fellow of the history of medicine department at Warwick University.

He said receiving the recognition was "a great honour" and that it reflected more than 30 years of contribution across a range of sectors and issues.

In an article published by The Voice, he said: "I see this recognition not simply as a personal achievement, but as an opportunity to further tackle inequality and promote greater dialogue and engagement across the UK around the ongoing injustices faced by the Windrush Generation and migrant communities."

Among his many roles, Vernon is a patron of black mental health charity, the African Caribbean Community Initiative based in Wolverhampton as well as being a patron of social enterprise Sante, based in Camden, London.

In addition, he is also vice chair of the Bernie Grant Trust and a board member of 38 Degrees, a not-for-profit political activism organisation.

He led the campaign for Windrush Day since 2010, and in 2018 he launched a campaign calling for an amnesty for the Windrush generation which led to a government u-turn in immigration policy and the resignation of then-home secretary Amber Rudd.

Vernon was awarded an OBE in 2012 for his work in tackling health inequalities for ethnic minority communities in Britain and was given honorary doctorate by Wolverhampton University in 2018 for his work on migration history and equalities.

He has helped advise both the Labour government and coalition government on mental health, and was a Labour councillor for Hackney between 2006-2014.

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