Topic description and stories

A Black chess player about to win against a light-skinned cleric. Chess problem 88 in the Libro de axedrez, dados e tablas (Seville, 1283). Credit: Patrimonio Nacional. Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial

Medieval chess promoted racial harmony and respect

19 Mar 2026

Medieval manuscripts, paintings and chess sets reveal that the so-called ‘game of kings’ defied social structures and racial attitudes by celebrating...

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Family fortunes founded on slavery: introducing the Sandbach Tinne Collection

28 Aug 2025

Records unearthed by a Cambridge PhD student expose the kinship and brutality behind one of Britain’s most powerful slave-trading dynasties, as...

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Black Town & Gown: The historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge

27 Feb 2025

The premiere of Black Town & Gown: The historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge will take place on 28 March from 6.30pm and...

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Montage of faces

Celebrating remarkable talent as part of Black History Month

02 Oct 2024

Black History Month in Cambridge brings an opportunity to take part in topical discussions, appreciate art and hear from a range of engaging speakers...

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Black British Voices: the findings

28 Sep 2023

The largest survey to date of the opinions and attitudes of Black people in Britain has revealed a central split on the question of British pride.

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Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance

21 Sep 2023

A major new exhibition explores Cambridge's role in slavery, the people it affected and their resistance to it.

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Black Ned Kelly? The truth about an infamous Australian bandit

14 Nov 2022

Historian Dr Meg Foster shatters the myth that “Black Douglas” murdered a white woman and tells the story of an intelligent survivor

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Tyra Amofah-Akardom (left) and Surer Mohamed (right)

Black history is Cambridge history

25 Oct 2022

Tyra Amofah-Akardom, Rumbidzai Dube and Surer Mohamed reflect on the Black Cantabs Research Society – a counter-history project, designed to uncover...

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“We can’t put our trust in a system that doesn’t hear us”

24 May 2021

Major survey on Black British life launched by Cambridge University and The Voice newspaper.

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Patricia Bath (left) and Faith Osier

Black Legacies in STEM exhibition launches today

05 Oct 2020

To celebrate Black History Month 2020, an exhibition curated by Africans in STEM entitled ‘Past & Present: Black Legacies in STEM’ launches...

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University of Cambridge researchers

Black researchers shaping the future

10 Oct 2018

As the UK marks Black History Month, researchers from across the University talk about their route to Cambridge, their inspiration and their...

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Eight black researchers photpgraphed around Cambridge.

Black researchers shaping the future

10 Oct 2018

As the UK marks Black History Month, eight black researchers from across the University talk about their route to Cambridge, their inspiration and...

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