The founder of successful Devon food and farming brand The Black Farmer says his business exists thanks to the Windrush generation.
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, whose £10m-turnover company was established in 2004, made the comments as the º£½ÇÊÓƵ marked Windrush Day 2025 on Sunday (June 22).
The annual event was first observed in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ in 2018 and celebrates the contribution of Caribbean migrants and their families to Britain.
"I stand here because of them," Mr Emmanuel-Jones wrote on Instagram. "The Black Farmer exists because of them.
"We honour the generation that paved the way — who came to this country with nothing but courage, strength, and the will to build a better life."
The Windrush generation refers to people who arrived in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ from Caribbean countries, including ex-servicemen from the West Indies, between 1948 and 1973 to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War.
The first ship to dock in Tilbury in Essex, 77 years ago, was the Empire Windrush, which later became a symbol for the mass-migration movement.
In 2018, it was revealed the British government had wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights to hundreds of those people. One of the founders of Windrush Day has now has called for a public inquiry into the scandal, according to .
Mr Emmanuel-Jones added: "Today, we remember. We reflect. We celebrate. Not out of nostalgia — but out of recognition. Because without the Windrush generation, this country would not be what it is.
"Their labour built industries. Their culture shaped communities. Their resilience taught this nation lessons it still needs to learn. And for me — a child of that generation — this day is personal.
"Everything I’ve built, from farm to shop, from field to shelf, stands on the shoulders of that journey. So today we honour their contribution. And tomorrow — and every day after — we keep pushing forward, knowing that legacy isn’t just something to remember. It’s something to live."
Mr Emmanuel-Jones was awarded an MBE in December 2019 for services to farming and has worked over many years to support diversity in agriculture.
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