Addressing Legacies at Cambridge

Black Advisory Hub
The Black Advisory Hub has been established to help build a diverse and inclusive community for all students and staff members at the University of Cambridge, as part of institutional action to improve Black students' outcomes at Cambridge.

Cambridge-Africa
Cambridge-Africa is a University programme that supports African researchers and promotes mutually beneficial collaborations and equitable partnerships between Africa and Cambridge.

Cambridge Africa Mentorship Programme
The Cambridge University Africa Mentorship Programme (CAMP) supports African postgraduate applicants by providing structured guidance, webinars and one‑to‑one mentorship to increase application success at the University.

Race Equality Network
The Race Equality Network  aims to foster belonging and drive positive change to improve the staff experience for racially and culturally diverse colleagues at Cambridge.
 

Resources for schools 

KS5 taught session: Anthropology, Archaeology and Identity 
A 90-minute taught session exploring how museums connect with communities and the ethical issues around collecting, curation, and repatriation. Includes guided teaching and independent gallery research. 

Key stage 3 resources: Darwin and Slavery: Exploring Anti-Slavery Views Through Primary Sources 
Teaching resources examining Darwin’s anti-slavery views during the Beagle voyage. Includes downloadable activities using letters and journals to explore the transatlantic slave trade.  

Engagement projects 

African Collections Futures  
The African Collections Futures project aims to identify where Africa-related objects and materials are held across the University of Cambridge. It looks at how these items were acquired, how researchers, African institutions, and diaspora communities engage with them, and what more can be done.

Black British Voices: Black British Collections
A Cambridge University Library project that works with community partners to explore and amplify the histories and experiences of Black British communities, using library collections to connect historical records with contemporary perspectives.

Celebrating Black Minds
A year‑long programme of public engagement that celebrates and amplifies the intellectual, cultural, and civic contributions of Black scholars at the University of Cambridge, past and present. The programme brings together events, conversations, and creative activities across the University.
Read more about the opening event at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

From the Caribbean to Cambridge: Reimagining Pre-Columbian Archaeology Collections Together 
A project exploring the Caribbean’s pre-Columbian history through objects held at with the aim of bringing together Caribbean diaspora communities in the East of England to collaboratively reinterpret, co-curate and create the first permanent Caribbean display cases at the MAA.
  
The MAA Digital Lab 
A digital engagement project that seeks to increase the visibility and accessibility of the world cultures collections at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA), Cambridge. 

Whispers of Caribbean Isles: Inclusive Narratives for pre-Columbian Archaeology Collections 
The initiative seeks to trial innovative approaches for connecting existing collections at University Museums with stakeholder communities both locally and internationally. It focuses on exploring the Caribbean’s pre-Columbian history through inclusive, multivocal dialogues with contemporary Caribbean communities in Cambridge and beyond.
 
Events and exhibitions 

African Legacies in Cambridge Tour  
A guided walking tour by Uncomfortable Cambridge inspired by the African Collections Futures Report. The African Legacies in Cambridge Museums Tour is offered free of charge as part of the public programming of the University of Cambridge Museums. This tour invites visitors to engage directly with Cambridge’s African collections — and to reflect on how the legacies of the past continue to inform our understanding of the present. 

Legacies of Enslavement Exhibition (22 April 2025 - 31 October 2025, Newnham College)
Highlighted how Newnham College’s founders were linked to the transatlantic enslavement economy.

Renaturation: Fractured Identities, Future Selves (22 November 2024 – 29 June 2025, Murray Edwards College)
Explored, through Debbie Yeboah’s work, the reconstitution of the Ghanaian self in the wake of colonialism by meditating on healing, using art to confront the colonial wound while imagining alternative futures.

Rise Up: Resistance, Revolution, Abolition (21 February - 1 June 2025, Fitzwilliam Museum)
Explored the struggle to abolish the British slave trade between 1750 and 1850, highlighting resistance leaders and the lasting legacies of the fight for justice.  
Collection item details 

Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance (8 September 2023 - 7 January 2024, Fitzwilliam Museum)
Examined Cambridge’s links to the transatlantic slave trade and revealed how objects and artworks shaped histories, identities and perspectives.  

Power and Memory (2022-2024, Cambridge Museums)
A cross-museum programme that brought together exhibitions, events, and community-led activities to explore themes of power, colonial histories, and memory within Cambridge’s collections. 
 

Cambridge United States Studies Network (USN)
USN connects scholars across the University who study the U.S. as an empirical and theoretical site. It promotes collaboration, coordinates events, and creates opportunities for research and public engagement on U.S. related topics.

Catalysts for Decolonisation: The Significance of (Anti)Colonialism in 20th Century History Research Lab
A research lab based at CRASSH that brings together students, staff and community members to explore colonialism, anticolonialism and decolonial thought, and their relevance to the twentieth century and the present.

Centre of African Studies
The Cambridge Centre of African Studies is a leading hub for interdisciplinary research and teaching on Africa, fostering collaboration between scholars at Cambridge and across the continent.

Centre of Development Studies
The Centre of Development Studies is a multidisciplinary centre within Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies, dedicated to interdisciplinary research and postgraduate training on global development.

Centre of Latin American Studies
The Centre of Latin American Studies promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching on Latin America. It fosters global academic links and supports a vibrant community engaged in history, politics, culture, and development studies. 

Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH)
CRASSH is an interdisciplinary research centre that brings together scholars across the arts, humanities and social sciences. It supports networks, fellowships and collaborative programmes, including work on decolonisation, race and global histories.

Centre of South Asian Studies
The Centre of South Asian Studies is a world-renowned hub for research on South and South East Asia, serving all faculties and departments across the University.

Consortium for the Global South 
The Consortium for the Global South is a collaborative initiative led by the Centre of African Studies, Centre of Development Studies, Centre of Latin American Studies, the Centre for Gender Studies and Centre of South Asian Studies. It promotes interdisciplinary research on the Global South, bringing together scholars across regions and disciplines to address major global challenges in historical and contemporary contexts.

Decolonising Plant Knowledge: Voices from Subverted Plant Worlds Research Network
A CRASSH research network bringing together interdisciplinary scholars to explore plant–human relationships through a decolonising lens, examining how colonial histories have shaped knowledge systems and environments.

Global Racisms Institute for Social Transformation (GRIST)
GRIST is a collaborative research initiative tackling global racisms by reimagining how knowledge is created. It brings diverse voices together to co-create innovative, emotionally engaged solutions to systemic inequality.

The Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage (REACH) research hub
An interdisciplinary hub based at Wolfson College that brings together researchers, students, and staff to support collaborative work on race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage, with a focus on culturally diverse research and global impact.

Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre
A research centre that focuses on overcoming barriers to education in the Global South, addressing inequalities shaped by poverty, gender, and colonial legacies through collaborative research and policy engagement.

Researching Legacies of the Past (HSS Research Framework)
An interdisciplinary research framework that brings together scholars across the University to explore historical transitions, including colonialism and enslavement. It supports collaboration and highlights research on their ongoing impacts and legacies.

Dr Amit Bhasin Prize
The Dr Amit Bhasin Prize is awarded to an outstanding African research student at the University of Cambridge. Established by friends and colleagues of Dr Amit Bhasin, Cambridge‑Africa Programme Manager (2019–2020), the prize commemorates his life and celebrates his dedication to supporting African researchers. Run by Cambridge‑Africa, the prize is open to postgraduate research students who are nationals of an African country, including those who have successfully defended their PhD within 12 months of the application deadline.

George Bridgetower Essay Competition 
Established in 2022, the George Bridgetower Essay Prize is awarded annually to Cambridge students for outstanding essays that engage critically with Black history, culture, or thought. The competition, run by the Black Advisory Hub, honours the legacy of the composer and violinist George Bridgetower. 

Peter Peckard Memorial Prize
Founded to commemorate Peter Peckard—18th‑century Master of Magdalene College and an early advocate for the abolition of slavery—the Peter Peckard Memorial Prize is awarded annually to Cambridge undergraduates for outstanding essays addressing modern‑day slavery and exploitation. Run by Magdalene College, the competition welcomes submissions from individual students and student societies.

William Dusinberre Prize
The William Dusinberre Prize is awarded annually to Cambridge students for exceptional research that engages critically with the histories, practices, and legacies of enslavement. The prize honours the memory of William Dusinberre, a distinguished historian of American slavery, and seeks to illuminate both the historical and contemporary invisibilities of enslavement across academic disciplines.
Run by Girton College, the competition is open to all students at the University of Cambridge.

Decolonising the Curriculum Initiatives 
Decolonising groups  support staff and students in embedding inclusive practices and diverse perspectives into teaching and learning at Cambridge.

 

African Caribbean Research Group
The African Caribbean Research Group (ACRG) is an inclusive organisation that serves the needs of a wide variety of community groups in Cambridge City and the Caribbean islands.