Black Oxford Untold stories, Beaumont Street, Oxford (2026)

07/10/2026

WHO GETS TO BE PART OF OXFORD’S HISTORY?

Black Oxford: The Untold Stories

Talk and Book Signing with Pamela Roberts | Weston Library| Oxford

I’m delighted to be speaking at the Weston Library, about the significant and often overlooked histories of Black scholars at the University of Oxford.

Drawing on my new book, the updated and expanded edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars, I trace the powerful journey from the pioneering achievements of Christian Frederick Cole, the university’s first Black scholar, to today’s generation of Black scholars reshaping academia.

Through narratives of achievement, resistance, caricature, visibility, and belonging, the talk examines how Oxford’s past continues to shape its present. It highlights the importance of recovering these histories while reflecting on legacy, representation, and the evolving meaning of Black intellectual life within a world-leading university.

I’ll also be signing and selling copies of Black Oxford in Blackwell Hall, 3–4pm.

More information and to book: Return to the City of Dreaming Spires: From Christian Frederick Cole to the New Black Oxford | Visit the Bodleian Libraries

www.Pamela RobertsAuthor.com. bit.ly/4xX7wzG

06/10/2026

WHO GETS TO BE PART OF OXFORD’S HISTORY?

Black Oxford: The Untold Stories

Talk and Book Signing with Pamela Roberts | Weston Library| Oxford

I’m delighted to be speaking at the Weston Library, about the significant and often overlooked histories of Black scholars at the University of Oxford.

Drawing on my new book, the updated and expanded edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars, I trace the powerful journey from the pioneering achievements of Christian Frederick Cole, the university’s first Black scholar, to today’s generation of Black scholars reshaping academia.

Through narratives of achievement, resistance, caricature, visibility, and belonging, the talk examines how Oxford’s past continues to shape its present. It highlights the importance of recovering these histories while reflecting on legacy, representation, and the evolving meaning of Black intellectual life within a world-leading university.

I’ll also be signing and selling copies of Black Oxford in Blackwell Hall, 3–4pm.

More information and to book: Return to the City of Dreaming Spires: From Christian Frederick Cole to the New Black Oxford Return to the City of Dreaming Spires: From Christian Frederick Cole to the New Black Oxford | Visit the Bodleian Libraries

www.Pamela RobertsAuthor.com. bit.ly/4xX7wzG

05/10/2026

Christian Frederick Cole: The Story Behind the Plaque Why recovering one person's history can change how we see an institution

There is a memorial plaque in Logic Lane that many people walk past.

It commemorates Christian Frederick Cole.

But before 2017, there was no plaque.

And for many people, Cole did not exist at all.

Cole arrived at Oxford in 1873 and became the University's first Black African student. In 1883, he became Britain's first Black barrister.

Yet none of this was reflected in Oxford's visible history.

There was no grand portrait. No statue. No plaque. No obvious indication that this extraordinary man had been part of the University's history.
His absence bothered me.

My research had uncovered a man who had crossed continents, studied at Oxford and entered a profession from which Black people were routinely excluded. Yet Oxford's public spaces appeared not to know his name.

So I began campaigning for a plaque to bring him back into view.

It was not straightforward. There were meetings, committees, planning processes and discussions with the college and English Heritage — and, above all, persistence.

Eventually, on 14 October 2017, the Christian Frederick Cole memorial plaque was unveiled in Logic Lane.

I will never forget something the Domestic Bursar said to me at our first meeting:

"Thank you for bringing Cole back to us."
That sentence has stayed with me.

Because this is what historical research can do.

It can bring someone back.

Not literally, of course. But back into the public imagination. Back into the institutional story. Back into the places where history is remembered.

And the revised edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University's Black Scholars allows me to delve deeper with Cole than I could in 2013, because new research changes how his story can be understood.

We now know more about his life after Oxford, including the professional barriers he encountered as a Black barrister. His education and qualification did not remove the structural discrimination, professional exclusions and racial attitudes that constrained his opportunities.

Cole eventually moved to Zanzibar, where he worked as a barrister before dying of smallpox in 1885, aged just thirty-three.

The more I researched Cole, the more I realised that this was never simply the story of a "first".

It was a story about ambition, education, race, professional opportunity, Empire — and the price of being a pioneer.

That is why I continue to tell Cole's story.

Because historical research should not simply recover the past.

It can change the present.

A plaque is important.

But the story behind the plaque matters more — because once a history has been recovered, it becomes much harder for an institution to say it was never there.

Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University's Black Scholars — Revised and Updated Edition is the result of thirteen years of continuing research, public engagement and asking questions that have not always been comfortable.

I hope you'll join me in this next chapter - at a special talk at the Weston Library celebrating the publication of the new, substantially updated and extended edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars.

Saturday 7 November 2026 | 2–3pm

Weston Library, Oxford — and online
Free and open to all

https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/2026/nov/pamela-roberts

02/10/2026

The Story Continues: A New Edition of Black Oxford

I’ve been quiet. Well, quiet for me.

For the past eighteen months, I haven’t been resting on my laurels. Far from it.

In between delivering Black Oxford bus tours, lectures and talks, I’ve been back in the archives — revisiting familiar collections, discovering new ones and digging deeper into the stories behind Black Oxford: Untold Stories.

The result is something I’m incredibly proud to finally share.

Today, I’m delighted to announce my new updated and expanded edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars.

This book has been a long time in the making, bringing together new research, new stories and a much broader picture of the Black history of Oxford.

And I’m not stopping at the book.

I’ll also be delivering a couple of talks in Oxford, so there will be opportunities to hear more about the stories, the research and the people behind the pages.

It feels rather good to finally be able to share what I’ve been working on.

The new Black Oxford is here.

BLACK OXFORD

UNTOLD STORIES OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY'S BLACK SCHOLARS

The new, substantially updated and extended edition of Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars will be published in November 2026.

Based on new research, it revisits the stories of Black scholars including Christian Frederick Cole, Britain’s first Black barrister, and Alain LeRoy Locke, intellectual architect of the Harlem Renaissance. It also highlights African and African American women, the contribution of the Windrush Generation, and a new generation of Black scholars and leaders at Oxford.

The book also explores the complex and contested legacies of Empire and colonialism, including the history of Cecil Rhodes and the Rhodes Scholarships, alongside the barriers and prejudices encountered by Black scholars. In doing so, it traces a changing Oxford — from the nineteenth century to the present day — and the people who have helped shape its intellectual, cultural and public life.

Find out more at: bit.ly/4xX7wzG

18/09/2026

I have been thinking about provenance and attribution, and about what happens when independent creative work is followed by institutions with the resources to make a similar idea look entirely new.

In 2024, I put Black Oxford on a bus.

I created and launched the Black Oxford Untold Stories Guided Bus Tour, taking audiences through Oxford to hear the stories of Black scholars, pioneers and communities whose histories had been overlooked or rarely told.

The idea came from years of research, writing and developing Black Oxford Untold Stories.

I wanted to take those stories beyond the page and connect them to the city itself.

So I did.

I developed the concept and experience, created the content, found the partner and took it from an idea to a live tour.

On 27 July 2024, the first Black Oxford guided bus and walking tour launched.

I was there. I did the work.

That doesn't mean I own Black history.

It doesn't mean I own buses.

And it certainly doesn't mean nobody else should find new ways to bring history to audiences.

But creative work has provenance.

And that matters.

Because when an independent creator develops an idea without institutional backing, takes the risk and proves the concept — and a much larger organisation later enters similar territory with considerably greater funding, reach, marketing and visibility — something can happen.

The institutional version becomes the version everyone sees.

The glossy campaign becomes the reference point.

And the work that came before can quietly disappear.

That is the problem.

Not competition.

Not ownership.

Recognition.

Black cultural entrepreneurs, researchers, writers, historians, artists and producers are not simply sources of ideas for institutions to discover and repackage.

We create the work.

We build the audiences.

We establish the formats.

And we deserve to have that contribution recognised.

So, the questions are simple:

Who was there first?

Who developed the idea?

Who took the risk?

And who gets remembered when the idea becomes successful?

This isn't about claiming ownership of a history that belongs to all of us.

It is about making sure the history of the work is not lost.

I put Black Oxford on a bus first.

That is not a claim.

It is provenance.

And provenance matters.

05/08/2026

Today, I was delighted to receive another booking for Black History Month.

As organisations, universities and community groups begin preparing their Black History Month programmes and looking to book speakers, I'd like to share the words of Merze Tate (1905–1996), the first African American woman to achieve a degree from the University of Oxford and a passionate advocate for gender pay equity:

"I am not the grateful, self-sacrificing woman who valued service over compensation when it was clear there were funds to pay me."

Those words resonate as strongly today as they did when she spoke them.

As a professional speaker and award-winning creative producer, I ask that you afford me the respect of commissioning my expertise with a professional budget, rather than assuming I will speak in exchange for a free chicken dinner.

I have eaten enough chicken dinners to last me a lifetime.

Professional speaking is not simply about standing in front of an audience. It is built on years of research, experience, preparation and the ability to engage, educate and inspire.

I speak on Black history, hidden histories, storytelling, public engagement, leadership and entrepreneurship, delivering talks that challenge perspectives, spark conversations and leave audiences thinking long after the event has ended.

If you're planning your Black History Month programme and are looking for an engaging, thought-provoking speaker, I'd love to hear from you.

[email protected]

27/07/2026

Who Gets to Tell Oxford's Story?

Following my recent reflections on the Black Oxford Bus Tour and what cultural tourism can teach us about audience engagement, I've been thinking about another part of the visitor journey:

What happens when the tour ends?

As the founder and curator of the Black Oxford Bus Tour, created in partnership with Oxford City Sightseeing, I often arrive early to prepare before welcoming visitors.

Recently, while waiting for a group of students to arrive, I wandered into a gift shop.

The shelves were filled with the kinds of things visitors have come to expect from Oxford—books, mugs, college memorabilia, postcards and souvenirs celebrating the city's familiar heritage.

Looking around, I found myself wondering not about what was there, but about what wasn't.

Whose stories do visitors get to take home?

Oxford attracts millions of visitors because of its history, architecture, academic reputation and cultural institutions. In 2025, Oxford University's Gardens, Libraries and Museums welcomed a record 3.8 million visitors.

But Oxford's history is much bigger than its buildings.

Through my research and the Black Oxford project, I have discovered—and continue to uncover—stories of Black scholars, intellectuals, graduates, entrepreneurs and community figures whose lives are also part of Oxford's history.

And time and again, visitors tell me:

"I had no idea."

That response has made me think about how we decide which stories become part of a city's public identity.

This isn't about replacing Oxford's traditional heritage. It is about adding to it.

What opportunities are there to broaden the stories visitors encounter—and the stories they can buy, read, share and take home?

If visitors are looking for meaningful and authentic experiences, could there be greater opportunities for historians, authors, artists, designers and independent makers to contribute to the visitor economy?

Could cultural tourism do more to support the creative economy while also giving visitors a richer understanding of the places they visit?

These aren't simply questions about tourism.

They're questions about representation, opportunity, heritage and belonging.

Every week on the Black Oxford Bus Tour, I see the curiosity that emerges when visitors discover a part of Oxford's history they haven't encountered before. They ask questions. They want to know where they can learn more. They want to continue the journey after the bus tour ends.

And that brings me back to the question:

What stories do visitors get to take home?

Perhaps the future of cultural tourism isn't simply about showing people more of a city.

Perhaps it's about helping them understand more of it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, particularly if you work in heritage, museums, tourism, publishing, retail, education or the creative industries.

Who gets to tell Oxford's story—and how can we make that story fuller?

21/07/2026

What happens when historical research leaves the pages of a book and takes to the streets?

It was a pleasure to welcome students from the University of Alabama to Oxford yesterday for an afternoon of learning, exploration, and dialogue.

The day began with the Black Oxford Guided Bus Tour, before moving to the Weston Library for a lecture exploring the research, development and delivery of Oxford's first Black heritage bus tour. Together, we examined how public history and cultural tourism can transform historical research into engaging, accessible experiences that connect people with stories often overlooked within traditional narratives.

One of the key themes we explored was the power of place-based storytelling. Experiencing history in the places where it happened enables audiences to see familiar landscapes through new eyes, creating opportunities for curiosity, dialogue and a deeper understanding of Oxford's diverse heritage.

Thank you to Richard Ovenden and Kaley at the The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford for their warm welcome, generous support and collaboration in making the afternoon such a success. Their commitment to creating spaces for learning, research and public engagement is greatly appreciated.

As Black Oxford continues to develop new ways of sharing history, partnerships like these demonstrate the value of international collaboration, knowledge exchange and innovative approaches to engaging new audiences.

They remind us that public history is at its most powerful when it moves beyond traditional spaces and meets people where they are.

The visit also inspired my latest LinkedIn article, Rethinking Public History Through Cultural Tourism, in which I reflect on what the Black Oxford Guided Bus Tour has taught me about audience engagement, place-based storytelling and the role of cultural tourism in bringing history to life.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. How are you using innovative approaches to engage new audiences with history and heritage?

16/06/2026

It was wonderful to welcome the University of Texas at Austin back for their second year on the Black Oxford guided bus tour. They brought not just good weather but also plenty of curiosity and a real interest in learning about Black scholars at the University of Oxford. Our conversations included lively debates about Alan LeRoy Locke, representation, recognition, and the legacy of Cecil Rhodes.

Go Longhorns!

If you want to explore Oxford beyond the usual sights and discover its rich Black history—from pioneering scholars to the Windrush generation—book a private tour for your organisation, school, or group at www.blackoxford.net.

05/02/2026

Why Hearing Christian Cole’s Name on TV Meant More Than It Seemed

Last night, I was drifting in and out of sleep-in front of the television when the quiz shows Sorry, I Didn’t Know happened to be playing in the background. In my dazed stupor, I heard the host, Chizzy Akudolu, ask: “Who was the first Black student at the University of Oxford?”
That question snapped me fully awake.

Did I really hear that?

For those who know my research on Black scholars at Oxford, the answer is familiar: Christian Frederick Cole — the first Black scholar at the University in 1873 and Britain’s first Black barrister.

I have written about Cole for many years and have championed his name and legacy through my work as Founder and Director of Black Oxford: Untold Stories. Through this platform, I have sought to ensure that the contributions of Black scholars are researched, recorded, and recognised.

In an article I wrote back in 2013, when I was asked about my aims in profiling Black scholars at Oxford, I said that I wanted their names to be as closely associated with the University as those of Wilde, Shelley, or Thatcher — that figures like Alain Locke, Kofoworola Moore, and Christian Cole would be spoken of as naturally as Harold Wilson, Percy Shelley, or Bill Clinton.

Last night, hearing Cole’s name mentioned on national television, I couldn’t help but smile.

For many, it may seem like a small moment. But for me, it felt quietly significant. It was a reminder that sustained research, storytelling, and advocacy do matter. Names that were once overlooked are beginning to find their rightful place in public memory.

So, my thanks to the team behind Sorry, I Didn’t Know, for including that question — and, hopefully, for sparking new curiosity about Christian Frederick Cole and his remarkable legacy.

Black Oxford Untold stories

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