The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars from the first black scholar to the new generation

Return to the City of Dreaming Spires:

Award-winning historian and creative producer Pamela Roberts explores the significant and often overlooked histories of Black scholars at the University of Oxford. Drawing on her new book, the updated and expanded edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars, she traces a powerful journey from the pioneering achievements of Christian Frederick Cole, the university’s first Black scholar, to today’s generation of Black scholars reshaping academia.

Through narratives of achievement, resistance, caricature, visibility, and belonging, the talk examines how Oxford’s past continues to shape its present. It highlights the importance of recovering these histories while reflecting on legacy, representation, and the evolving meaning of Black intellectual life within a world-leading university.

Pamela will be signing and selling copies of her book in Blackwell Hall from 15.00 – 16.00.

Speaker

Pamela Roberts is an award-winning creative producer, historian, and founder of Black Oxford Untold Stories, a pioneering initiative that uncovers and celebrates the hidden histories of Black scholars at the University of Oxford through lectures, creative projects, and bold, innovative public engagement. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Historical Society. Roberts has contributed to BBC History Magazine, academic journals, and Oxford University Press reference works.

Description supplied by the event organiser.