Background and aims
The Legacies of Enslavement Initiative supports research, engagement and collaboration on the histories and enduring legacies of enslavement, colonialism and racial inequality. Building on the University's earlier inquiry into its historical links to enslavement, the Initiative brings together researchers, students, heritage professionals and community partners to explore how these histories continue to shape institutions, collections, societies and lived experiences today.
From Inquiry to Initiative
2019
The University established a Working Group on the Legacies of Enslavement to investigate its historical links to enslavement and the transatlantic slave trade.
2022
The Working Group published the Advisory Group on Legacies of Enslavement Final Report, examining the University's connections to enslavement and making recommendations for future research, engagement and institutional action.
2022
The Vice-Chancellor welcomed the findings and published The Vice-Chancellor's Response to the Report, committing the University to implementing its recommendations and supporting further research, partnerships and public engagement.
2025
The Legacies of Enslavement Initiative was established to build on this work. The Initiative supports research, collaboration, public engagement and funding opportunities that explore the histories and enduring legacies of enslavement and colonialism.
The legacies of enslavement form a part of who we are today, and inform what we wish to achieve. We can never rewrite history, or do away with our heritage, but we can try to address prevailing inequalities. This process begins through greater self-knowledge and self-reflection.
— Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor, 2017–2022
Understanding Cambridge’s past
In 2019 the University of Cambridge embarked on a programme of research and reflection on its historical connections to the practice of enslavement. The aim of this work was to bring to light and understand how the University, its colleges and individual members were linked to, benefited from and, in some cases, challenged a system that was responsible for the enslavement and transportation of millions of people across three centuries.
In 2022 the Legacies of Enslavement Working Group published a research-based report that outlined and made public some of that history, acknowledging the multiple ways in which historically the institution directly and indirectly benefited from enslavement, but also how, as a key centre for the production of knowledge, was involved in legitimising and supporting the creation of the system of slavery system across the world.
Film: Cambridge and the Legacies of Enslavement
Produced following the publication of the University's 2022 report on its historical links to enslavement, this film explores the inquiry's findings and their significance today. Contributors reflect on Cambridge's connections to enslavement, the responsibilities that arise from this history and the actions taken in response.
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Our work
The Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative was created by the Vice-Chancellor’s Office to implement the recommendations of the Legacies of Enslavement report. It brings together a wide range of projects, events and activities across three core areas:
Research and institution building
Facilitating and promoting research into Cambridge's legacies of enslavement, both by University members and international colleagues and partners, with a particular focus on those from the African diaspora.
Community engagement
Engaging with Black British communities and those from the wider African diaspora and supporting their participation in all aspects of the University's mission.
Partnerships
Fostering equitable, collaborative and sustained partnerships with institutions and students from those countries most affected by the institution of slavery and which continue to bear its legacies.
A further recommendation of the 2022 Report was the memorialisation of the victims of slavery and the celebration of Black lives connected with the University. The University’s Fitzwilliam Museum is leading this work in collaboration with partners across the University and a range of artists. The programme was launched in 2026 with the Celebrating Black Minds opening event at the Fitzwilliam Museum and continues through a series of exhibitions, events and creative projects that explore Black histories, experiences and contributions connected with the University and wider society.