Black History Month

October 2024

Programme of events

Oxford Brookes University is proud to celebrate Black History Month in October 2024. Everyone is welcome to the events and resources to support learning, connection and awareness.

Programme of events

The national theme for Black History Month 2024 is ‘Reclaiming Narratives, underscoring a commitment to correcting historical inaccuracies and showcasing the untold success stories and the full complexity of Black heritage. 

Our keynote lecture this year will be presented by Trevor Sterling, the first Black Senior Partner at a UK top 100 law firm on Wednesday 16 October on the Headington Campus. The session will consist of a lecture followed by a Q&A. 

Keynote speaker: Trevor Sterling

Self-belief and aspiring to be the ladder 

Wednesday 16 October 2024, 6.00pm - 7.00pm, JHB Lecture Theatre, Headington Campus

Trevor Sterling, the first Black Senior Partner at a UK top 100 law firm, will share insights from his personal journey and the importance of self-belief irrespective of social challenges.

Trevor Sterling

Centre of Research in the Arts | Guy Davis: Blues, Songwriting and Civil Rights

On Tuesday 22 October at 5pm in JHB Lecture Theatre, the Centre of Research in the Arts (CoRA) will present an evening with Guy Davis: Blues, Songwriting and Civil Rights. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. The musician, actor, author, songwriter and two-time Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues will be in conversation with blues musician and chair of the European Blues Association Michael Roach.

During this event, there will be the opportunity to sign up for the ‘Blues in Schools’ Programme 'From Work Songs to the Blues, Hip Hop and Beyond', by Michael Roach who has been presenting this event for the past 35 years.

Book 'an evening with Guy Davis'

EDI Research Network Research Showcase Event

The Brookes EDI Research Network is encouraging colleagues and students engaged in related research to get in touch to share work in progress in a Research Showcase. 

Contact: EDIN on edin@brookes.ac.uk

Brookes Union

Look out for further information on events and initiatives from Brookes Union and our Student Networks. 

Community Events

During October there will be other events and initiatives by local organisations and community groups as well as national events. The local Community Archiving initiative is hosting an exhibition to showcase the work of the project in collaboration with Fusion Arts at Gloucester Green in Oxford city centre.

Learning Resources reading list

For Black History Month 2024, explore the library's Anti-racism reading list for a collection of fiction, poetry, non-fiction books, and online resources relating to racism and anti-racism. Help us expand this list by emailing lr-equality@brookes.ac.uk with any suggestions.

If you want to learn more about Black history in Britain, browse the History of black, asian, and other ethnic minorities in Britain reading list. You can find all of these books and ebooks at the Oxford Brookes libraries. If you have any suggestions for this list please contact us at  lr-equality@brookes.ac.uk.