The Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative is pleased to announce the recipients of its first round of Small Grants funding. The scheme supports events, projects and other outputs that contribute to the Initiative's aims of advancing research, fostering engagement, and developing new ways of understanding and addressing the legacies and afterlives of enslavement.
The five funded projects reflect the breadth of work taking place across the University, spanning museums, libraries and archives, public engagement, community collaboration, and interdisciplinary research.
Legacies of Enslavement and Empire: trail for the University Museum of Zoology
Principal Investigator: Jack Ashby (Department of Zoology)
This project will create a free trail pamphlet highlighting the legacies of enslavement and empire within the University Museum of Zoology's collections. Drawing on recent research, the trail will explore both histories of exploitation and the contributions of minoritised individuals whose stories have often been overlooked.
Understanding and addressing violence in Haiti—and post-slave plantation societies
Principal Investigator: Professor Charles Forsdick (Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics)
This international workshop will explore the enduring impacts of slavery, with a particular focus on Haiti and other post-plantation societies. Bringing together scholars, museum professionals, heritage practitioners, and community partners from Haiti, Ghana, the Caribbean, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the event will examine how racialised labour, exploitation, and inequality persisted after abolition in new forms. Discussions will address heritage, cultural memory, preservation, social inequality, and the contemporary legacies of enslavement.
Learn more about the international workshop on the legacies of slavery in contemporary societies..
New discovery tools for enslavement-related collections at Cambridge University Libraries and Archives
Principal Investigator: Sally Kumar (Cambridge University Libraries and Archives)
This project will develop new digital tools to improve access to and engagement with primary source materials relating to enslavement held across Cambridge University Libraries and Archives. It will create a thematic cross-collection guide and supporting LibGuide, helping researchers, students and the wider public discover previously hard-to-access resources, particularly within the Royal Commonwealth Society collections.
Cross-Disciplinary Summer School in preparation for the 2033 Abolition Bicentenary
Principal Investigator: Dr Lamin Manneh (Faculty of History)
This project will develop a cross-disciplinary summer school that re-examines the legacy of British abolitionism. Challenging narratives that present abolition solely as a humanitarian achievement, the programme will explore its connections to empire and ongoing forms of exploitation. Bringing together public memory practitioners from Black British communities, the project will support new community-led approaches to commemorating the 2033 bicentenary of abolition and interpreting the legacies of enslavement.
Black Town & Gown: second phase
Principal Investigator: Dr Kenny Monrose (Department of Sociology)
Building on the success of the Black Town & Gown documentary, this project will expand community engagement and participation by exploring how historical inequalities continue to shape social and spatial divisions in Cambridge. The project will produce a podcast series featuring personal stories about identity and Black experiences in the city, alongside an interactive website that shares archival materials and amplifies underrepresented local histories.
We look forward to sharing the outcomes of these projects and events over the coming months.
A further round of Small Grants funding will open in Autumn 2026. We encourage applications for events, projects and other activities that contribute to the aims of the Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative.
To hear about future funding opportunities, events and activities, please join our mailing list and stay updated on the Initiative's work.