TfL marks Black History Month with new podcast

01 October 2024
Each of the six London Overground lines will be given new names later this year, with new colours making it easier for customers to navigate London's transport network, while also celebrating the city's diverse culture and history
"I'm delighted that everyone can now learn more about this movement through TfL's Mind the Gap podcast, and I also encourage Londoners to check out the Windrush Foundation's special exhibition at Dalston Junction station which explores the history of Windrush"
Seb Dance
Deputy Mayor for Transport
  • In episode five of TfL's Mind the Gap Overground podcast, presenter Tim Dunn speaks with chef Levi Roots, former Dragons' Den contestant and founder of Reggae Reggae Sauce, and Arthur Torrington, co-founder of the Windrush Foundation
  • TfL will also mark Black History Month with an exhibition by the Windrush Foundation at Dalston Junction station and a photography series celebrating black staff members

Transport for London is marking Black History Month with the release of the Windrush episode of the successful Mind the Gap podcast series about the inspiration behind the new names for the London Overground lines.

In this episode, presenter Tim Dunn delves into the fascinating history of the Windrush generation and its links to the London Overground line that runs from Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction, New Cross, Crystal Palace and West Croydon, with special guests Levi Roots and Arthur Torrington. The line will become the Windrush line later this year.

The Windrush line will be represented on the Tube map with two parallel red lines, as part of the new names and colours for each of the six London Overground lines, making it easier for customers to navigate London's transport network while also celebrating the city's diverse culture and history.

In episode five of the Mind the Gap podcast, presenter Tim Dunn visits Peckham Rye in south-east London, where he speaks with Arthur Torrington. Arthur is advocate and co-founder of the Windrush Foundation. During the interview he talks about the impact of former Councillor Sam Beaver King MBE who served in the RAF for King and country before being sent back to Jamacia and later returning to England on the Empire Windrush.

Councillor King was the first person to commemorate the ship in 1968 when he put an advert in the local newspaper inviting those that came across on the ship to contact him. A few short years later King had a successful broadcast career before becoming the first black Mayor of Southwark. King set up the Windrush Foundation, with Arthur Torrington in 1996 to preserve the memories of those who arrived on that voyage and to campaign on behalf of West Indian immigrants.

In the second part of the episode, Tim speaks with former Dragons' Den contestant Levi Roots at Clapham Junction station. Levi talks about leaving his home in Clarendon in Jamacia to playing reggae music in The Providence Club in Clapham in his late teens, and after several years as a musician, he speaks about his journey into the food industry and his success with Reggae Reggae Sauce and his Dragons' Den triumph.

To help prepare customers ahead of the launch of the London Overground Windrush line later this year, The Windrush Foundation is hosting a special exhibition at Dalston Junction until the 10 October to highlight the contribution that the Windrush generation has made to UK public services, the arts and commerce.

Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said:

'The Windrush line, one of the six new London Overground line names chosen to highlight London's diverse history, honours the Windrush generation and their descendants who have contributed so much to our great city.

'I'm delighted that everyone can now learn more about this movement through TfL's Mind the Gap podcast, and I also encourage Londoners to check out the Windrush Foundation's special exhibition at Dalston Junction station which explores the history of Windrush.'

Emma Strain, Customer Director at TfL, said:

'The London Overground Windrush line honours the Windrush generation who continue to shape and enrich London's cultural and social identity today.

'We hope that our new podcast episode with Arthur Torrington and Levi Roots will inspire our customers to find out more about the fascinating history of the Windrush Generation. The Windrush Generation will always have close links to Transport for London and the exhibition at Dalston Junction is a wonderful way to highlight their contributions to public transport over several decades.'

Levi Roots, speaking on the Mind the Gap podcast, said:

'When I ride on the Windrush line for the first time, I will be shedding a tear. It will be fantastic for people to be able to ride on the London Overground and be able to say that they are travelling with the wonderful, iconic story of Windrush that needs to be told in this country.'

Arthur Torrington, speaking on the Mind the Gap podcast, said:

'The whole idea about the Windrush line is a brilliant idea, it's a game-changer. It helps not only the community along which the line runs, but it helps people who use the London Overground to understand and learn more about the history of Windrush. Knowing that history is a benefit to society - it helps community understanding, social cohesion, cultural exchange, and the best way of living.'

TfL is also marking Black History Month with a photography series of black staff members at Victoria station which is running over the autumn.

On the first Thursday of each month the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill is open to visitors until 21:00. October's Late includes Forging Ahead - A Celebration of the African and Caribbean Diaspora Legacy, two artistic documentary films celebrating the legacies of the African and Caribbean diaspora communities in Britain. This will be followed by a Q&A panel with the storytellers and creatives involved in the films.

The final episodes of the Mind the Gap London Overground series will delve into the stories of Weaver line later this autumn.

The 'Mind the Gap' podcast series was produced by 18Sixty and is released today on all major podcast platforms. 

Notes to editors:

About the London Overground line names

Each of the six London Overground lines will be given a new name and colour, to make it easier for customers to navigate the network, while celebrating London's diverse culture and history:

  • The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster
  • The Lioness line: Euston to Watford Junction
  • The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction
  • The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford
  • The Windrush line: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon
  • The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside

About TfL's Mind the Gap podcast series

  • This series of TfL's 'Mind the Gap' podcast, hosted by Tim Dunn and includes six episodes dedicated to each of the new London Overground lines
  • The Windrush podcast was released on 1 October and can be found here: https://link.chtbl.com/MindTheGap 
  • The Suffragette podcast was released on 6 September. The Liberty podcast was released on 28 August. The Lioness podcast was released on 31 July. The Mildmay podcast was released on 16 July, and they can all be found here:  https://link.chtbl.com/MindTheGap 
  • Last year TfL launched its first official podcasts series with the 'Mind the Gap' podcast. The series celebrated 160 years of the Tube network, with interviews from people who have helped shape it, such as Wayne Hemingway who designed the London Underground uniform and London's Night Czar Amy Lamé. Tim also interviewed famous TV and radio personality Rylan, about his love of the Tube
  • All the contributors who featured in the podcast volunteered and were not paid a fee for their involvement