Oxford Brookes University is proud to celebrate Black History Month in October.
Everyone is welcome to the events and resources to support learning, connection and awareness.
Monday 7 September to Friday 23 October, JHB Library, John Henry Brookes Building, Headington Campus
Listen to this story! Is a touring exhibition tracing 200 years of Black representation in British children’s literature. Based on research by Karen Sands-O’Connor, visiting professor in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield.
Black People, Belonging in Britain, and British Children's Books'
Monday 12 October 2026, 4.00pm to 5.00pm - online
Karen Sands-O’Connor looks at British identity and children's books, and how both were and continue to be shaped by British Empire ideas around 'race'. British children's books became an industry at the same time as the fight about enslavement was raging in Britain. Using children's books about enslavement/abolition as a starting point, the talk traces the history of Black people in British children's books through the twenty-first century, concluding with a discussion of why it is necessary to have British children's books that embrace Black communities and their stories.
Karen Sands-O’Connor is visiting professor in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield, where she is developing the Every Voice, Every Story resource library focused on the history of representation.
Part of Oxford Brookes University Children and Young People Network webinar series 2026-27.
in conversation with Dr Sarah Franklin, School of Arts and Goodness Odiaka, Brookes Union President.
Wednesday 14 October 2026, 6.00pm to 7.30pm in Clerici Learning Studio and online
Kit de Waal explores her journey into writing, the role of identity in shaping the stories we tell, and the pathways into publishing.
Drawing on her literary work and her involvement with Common People, Kit reflects on how personal experience, community and belonging can inform creative expression and offer new perspectives on whose stories are heard.
She discusses her own path into writing, the barriers to entry that many aspiring writers face in writing and publishing, and crucially, the ways these challenges can be navigated. Through an honest exploration of identity, storytelling and representation, Kit considers how writers can find their voices, build confidence and create space for their experiences within the literary landscape.
The session also examines the importance of widening access to publishing and creating opportunities for underrepresented voices. Participants will gain insight into the power of storytelling as a means of understanding ourselves, connecting with others and imagining more inclusive literary futures.
This initiative comprises a programme of activities designed to promote storytelling and its properties of wellbeing across the University community. It aims to amplify diverse voices, reduce barriers to participation and provide welcoming spaces in which staff and students can explore identity, culture and lived experience through storytelling. ‘Stories’ encourages contributions that explore themes of race, disability, neurodivergence, LGBTQIA+ experience, as well as class and the environment and their intersections.
The collaborative project provides opportunities for staff and students to develop their creative practice, share experiences and engage with different perspectives, leading to publication of the second issue of Stories of Difference and Possibility.
Read Issue 1 of Stories of Difference and Possibility
For more information contact: Mariama Sheriff on msheriff@brookes.ac.uk
Find out about more Brookes Union Black History month events.
An exhibition featuring a timeline display of the History of Black Britain from 100AD and panelled popups showing the Windrush Generation Journey, from the Black Cultural Archives.
Thursday 22 October 2026, 5.15pm to 8.30pm, Union Hall, John Henry Brookes Building
An evening of celebration with play and poetry performance, panel discussion, and award presentations.
Keynote address from Councillor Chewe Munkonge, Lord Mayor of Oxford, and presentation of awards by the Lord Mayor.
University of Oxford, Faculty of History
Kellogg College Black History Month Lecture
Wednesday 21 October 2026, 5:30pm to 6:30pm, The Hub, Kellogg College
Landé Belo, expert on employment law, equality, and organisational change, will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workplace, who benefits from these technologies, and how we can ensure they advance equality rather than entrench existing biases.
Professor Mia Bay, The Call and the Answer: Travel and Literature in the Work of Addie B. Hunton and Kathryn M. Johnson
Thursday 29 October 2026, 5,00pm to 6.30pm, Auditorium, Garden Quad, St John’s College, University of Oxford
Professor Bay will discuss the travel, work and thought of Addie B. Hunton and Kathryn M. Johnson, two YMCA workers sent to France in 1918 to investigate the treatment of 200,000 segregated black troops stationed there during World War I.
Thursday 22 October 7.00pm to 8.00pm, Pusey House Chapel, St Giles, Oxford
Luyanda and Prudence Jezile will perform an hour-long programme of South African township music in celebration of Black History Month.
Wednesday 30 September to Saturday 3 October: Oxford Playhouse
A Headlong, Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester production. Alive with rhythms of blues and jazz, humour and heartbreak, Fences is August Wilson’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece. Set in the 1950’s, it is a timeless and deeply human portrait of grief, love and what it means to be a family in post-war Black America.
Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 October: Oxford Playhouse
The award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto tells the epic story of a beautiful but unlikely friendship forged between an enslaved woman and her former master. Differences in faith, culture and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, in a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria.
Shedding Light in Ashmolean: Bringing together ‘Shedding Light’ and ‘A Nice Cup of Tea’ - European Ceramics Gallery
1 - 31 October 2026: Aviva Studios, Manchester: Portrait of Black Britain - Cephas Williams
The Staff Learning Portal (Brookes login required) hosts a range of eLearning courses on equality, diversity and inclusion topics. This includes modules to support awareness of race equity, tackling racial bias and related inclusive practice. All staff are encouraged to access these modules and increase their understanding and confidence in active anti-racism and allyship.
We welcome sharing and signposting to further resources to support Staff Learning and Development on race equity. Contact: EDIstaff@brookes.ac.uk
For Black History Month, 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 us 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.