̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Black history

Black Town & Gown: ̽��ֱ��historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge

zs332 — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 13:57:10 +0000

̽��ֱ��premiere of Black Town & Gown: ̽��ֱ��historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge will take place on 28 March from 6.30pm and is hosted by Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH).

Celebrating remarkable talent as part of Black History Month

ps748 — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:07:42 +0000

Events in Cambridge for Black History Month

Cambridge's Race Equality Lecture

Jesus College, Thursday 31 October

It may seem odd, but we start at the end of the month because this year’s Race Equality Lecture will take place on Thursday 31 October. ̽��ֱ��lecture is titled “Racism without racists – how racism works in the USA and the western world.” It will be delivered by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Professor of Sociology at Duke ̽��ֱ�� and former President of the American Sociological Association. It will take place in the Frankopan Hall at Jesus College and will be available to view online.

Book your place at the Race Equality Lecture

Olaudah Equiano Annual Lecture on Race Justice

Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ��, Wednesday 9 October

Lord Simon Woolley, Principal of Homerton College and co-founder of Operation Black Vote, will deliver the Olaudah Equiano Annual Lecture on Race Justice at Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ�� on Wednesday 9 October. ̽��ֱ��event will take place at the Cambridge campus and starts at 6pm. Lord Woolley is a tireless campaigner for equality, not just for Black communities but all under-represented or marginalised groups. During the event he will discuss the fight for racial equality drawing on his own personal experiences.

Book tickets for the Olaudah Equiano Annual Lecture on Race Justice

Moving beyond stereotypes surrounding Black women

King's College, Thursday 10 October

On the evening of Thursday 10 October, celebrated authors Kelechi Okafor and Afua Hirsch will discuss the challenges and opportunities they have faced when calling out social injustices in their work, with a focus on how their own identities have shaped their activism. They will share insights on the creative processes involved in their writing and how it has impacted on conversations about race, womanhood and justice.

Reserve a place for the discussion at King's

Collaborative art workshops

Robinson College, Wednesday 16 and Saturday 19 October

For those interested in modern art Robinson College is hosting two collaborative art workshops. ̽��ֱ��first, on Wednesday 16 October, will be hosted by London artist, Shem, on the theme ‘Black present now’. And then, on Saturday 19 October, the College will host Joshua Obichere, a Cambridge alumnus.

Panel discussion: Black excellence, health and wellness

St Edmund's College, Wednesday 16 October

Also on the afternoon of Wednesday 16 October, St Edmund’s College will be hosting a panel discussion on the themes of Black excellence, health and wellness. Speakers include economist and entrepreneur Ebenezer Ademisoye, clinical scientist, Dr Rafia Al-Lamki and Mastercard Scholar, Godspower Major.

Reserve your ticket for the panel discussion at St Edmund's College

Fireside chat at the Business School

Cambridge Judge Business School, Thursday 17 October

Lord Woolley will participate in a ‘fireside chat’ at the Business School on the afternoon of Thursday 17 October. ̽��ֱ��event will be chaired by Kamiar Mohaddes and will also include Tabitha Mwangi, Programme Director of the Mastercard Foundation, and Orobosa Isokpan from the Cambridge Africa Business Network. There will be networking opportunities as well but registration is essential.

An exhibition and events at St Catharine's College

St Catharine's College, throughout October

During the entire month of October, St Catharine’s College is hosting an exhibition showcasing the achievements of two prominent Black alumni. ̽��ֱ��pioneering doctor and civil rights activist Dr Cecil Clarke matriculated in 1914 in the first months of the First World War. Wendell Mottley was an Olympic athlete and economist who served as Trinidad and Tobago’s Finance Minister between 1991 and 1995. ̽��ֱ��exhibition commemorating them is being held in the Shakeshaft Library.

See the full programme of Black History Month events at St Catharine's College

̽��ֱ��Blacktionary Show

Wolfson College, Saturday 19 October

On Saturday 19 October Wolfson College hosts the ‘Blacktionary Show’. Authors Dr Maggie Semple and Jane Oremosu will be discussing their new work ‘My Little Book: A Blacktionary - ̽��ֱ��pocket guide to the language of race’. ̽��ֱ��book aims to help break down barriers when it comes to engaging in conversations on race. ̽��ֱ��event will be introduced by Dr Kenny Monrose, from the ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Sociology.

Panel discussion: how organisations promote equality and diversity in the face of a cultural backlash

Homerton College, Tuesday 22 October

On Tuesday 22 October Lord Woolley will again be participating in a discussion being held at Homerton College looking at how companies and other organisations promote equality and diversity in the face of a cultural backlash. Other prominent speakers include the successful businesswomen, Olu Orugboh and Yemi Jackson.

̽��ֱ��Trevelyan Lecture: 'Black Genius: Science, Race and the Extraordinary Portrait of Francis Williams'

Bateman Auditorium, Gonville and Caius College 5 pm Friday 25 October (Faculty of History)

Francis Williams was a Jamaican polymath who was born into slavery but ended his life as a gentleman and a scholar. His portrait, dating from the 1740s, shows him surrounded by books and scientific instruments. Was he Cambridge's first Black student? And who commissioned the portrait, and why? Princeton historian, Fara Dabhoiwala, will tackle these questions when he presents new research on the painting and its intriguing sitter.

Black History Month Academic Seminar

Hughes Hall, Monday 28 October

An opportunity to hear from the College's Black staff and PhD students and celebrate their achievements but also to hear about the challenges facing Black students at Cambridge. One of the main subjects for discussion will be the low numbers of Black academics in the UK.

More details about the seminar here

̽��ֱ��Really Popular Book Club: Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo

Online, Tuesday 29 October

On Tuesday 29 October the ̽��ֱ�� Library’s Really Popular Book Club will be discussing Bernardine Evaristo’s ‘Mr Loverman’. ̽��ֱ��book follows an Antiguan born immigrant living in Hackney, London, who leads a double life. ̽��ֱ��discussion will be hosted by Yvonne Battle Felton, Academic Director of Creative Writing at Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education. This is an online event.

Black Advisory Hub events

St John's College, Wednesday 30 October

During the afternoon of Wednesday 30 October, the Black Advisory Hub is hosting a social and afternoon tea for Black students at St John’s College. It's one of many events the Hub is hosting. These include induction sessions for both undergraduates and postgraduates and the prizegiving ceremony for the Bridgetower essay competition.

Visit the Black Advisory Hub to register

Cambridge Students' Union events

St John's College, Thursday 3 October

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Students' Union is also hosting several events to mark Black History Month. This opens with a screening of the documentary 'Educationally Subnormal: a British scandal' on Thursday 3 October.

Visit the Cambridge SU to see what's on

Black History Month in Cambridge brings an opportunity to take part in topical discussions, appreciate art and hear from a range of engaging speakers.

Montage of faces

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Black British Voices: the findings

fpjl2 — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 05:46:05 +0000

̽��ֱ��largest survey to date of the opinions and attitudes of Black people in Britain has revealed a central split on the question of British pride.

Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance

jek67 — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:04:00 +0000

A major new exhibition explores Cambridge's role in slavery, the people it affected and their resistance to it.

Black Ned Kelly? ̽��ֱ��truth about an infamous Australian bandit

ta385 — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:30:00 +0000

Historian Dr Meg Foster shatters the myth that “Black Douglas” murdered a white woman and tells the story of an intelligent survivor

Black history is Cambridge history

cg605 — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:20:34 +0000

Tyra Amofah-Akardom, Rumbidzai Dube and Surer Mohamed reflect on the Black Cantabs Research Society – a counter-history project, designed to uncover and preserve the legacies of Black Cambridge alumni – and discuss what it means to be a Black student at Cambridge.

“We can’t put our trust in a system that doesn’t hear us”

fpjl2 — Mon, 24 May 2021 08:04:30 +0000

Major survey on Black British life launched by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� and ̽��ֱ��Voice newspaper.

Black Legacies in STEM exhibition launches today

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 07:45:34 +0000

̽��ֱ��new exhibition showcases the work of Black scientists from all over the world who have made – and are making – significant contributions to the field of science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM).

Profiles, posters and pictures will be featured on a publically available website (africansinstem.co.uk) and linked social media platforms, as well as on physical posters displayed in selected departments* across the ̽��ֱ�� throughout the month of October.

̽��ֱ��materials in the exhibition include a mix of historic and present figures, such as Patricia Bath (left in the image above), the late American ophthalmologist who developed the ‘Laserphaco Probe’ to vapourise cataracts, and Kenyan immunologist Faith Osier (right in the image above) who developed ‘KILchip’, a system to detect complex antibodies from individual samples.

Also featured are Black students currently at Cambridge conducting research in novel chemotherapies for a rare paediatric brain tumour, fabrication of devices for advanced information processing and generation of low-carbon electricity from photosynthetic bacteria.

̽��ֱ��exhibition is the work of two Black researchers – PhD students Sandile Mtetwa and Cynthia Okoye who together lead Africans in STEM, a group that helps Africans involved in STEM research connect, share ideas and create collaborations.

“Stories of Black achievements in science are rarely told or often buried,” says Sandile Mtetwa, whose own research in the Department of Chemistry is on discovering new energy and sensing materials. “We wish to uncover these STEM legacies to combat the stark underrepresentation of Black people in the sciences – a phenomenon that is still characteristic of academia and enterprise.”

She adds: “Advocacy through celebration and promotion of achievements of Black people in STEM is a very good way to tackle the racial injustice that sadly prevails in the world. We see activities like ours as providing a positive ripple effect for better representation.”

̽��ֱ��team feels they have gained much themselves from the experience of curating the exhibition, as pharmacologist Cynthia Okoye explains: “Learning about the stories and contributions of Black scientists through this project has been nothing short of enlightening and empowering and I hope it will be the same for others, especially for the young and aspiring scientists out there.”

For more information, please visit africansinstem.co.uk

*Posters will be displayed in the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Materials Science & Metallurgy, Veterinary Science and Pharmacology throughout October. Please note that access to physical posters is restricted to departmental members as a result of COVID safety measures. All posters can also be viewed online.

Image sources:

Patricia Bath

Faith Osier

To celebrate Black History Month 2020, an exhibition curated by Africans in STEM entitled ‘Past & Present: Black Legacies in STEM’ launches online today (5 October).

Learning about the stories and contributions of Black scientists through this project has been nothing short of enlightening and I hope it will be the same for others, especially for the young and aspiring scientists out there.

Cynthia Okoye

Patricia Bath (left) and Faith Osier

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes