University of Oxford Black History Month Lecture 2025
This year's lecture will explore themes of power and pride in the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain
16 October 2025, 5.15pm to 7pm
O’Reilly Theatre, Keble College, OX1 3PG
The University of Oxford BME Staff Network and the Equality and Diversity Unit invite you to the 2025 Black History Month Lecture, delivered by award-winning historian Professor Hakim Adi. We are honoured to welcome Hakim as this year's speaker, who will explore themes of power and pride in the rich histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain, encompassing approximately 10,000 years of Britain's history.
Hakim is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Professorial Research Associate at the Centre of Pan-African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies. He was the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain.
In August 2024, Hakim was the recipient of the ‘Outstanding African Studies Award’ by the African Studies Association (UK) in recognition of his ‘exceptional contribution to the field of African Studies, for expanding and disseminating knowledge on Africa.’ In April 2025, he was awarded the Amilcar Cabral Centenary Medallion by the Fundação Amilcar Cabral (Cape Verde) for his work honouring the memory of Amilcar Cabral.
Hakim has appeared in many documentary films, on TV and on radio and has written widely on the history of Africa and the African Diaspora, including three history books for children. His most recent publication, Africa and Caribbean People in Britain: A History (Allen Lane, 2023), was shortlisted for the prestigious Wolfson History Prize in Britain in September 2023.
A dedicated advocate for the teaching of African and Caribbean histories in schools and Universities, Hakim was a founding member of the History Matters initiative and the Young Historians project. He believes teaching the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain to children and young people is vital.
For too long, those of African and Caribbean heritage in Britain have been written out of Britain's history, not to mention global histories. History helps us understand the world in which we live, so if it is presented in a one-sided, or Eurocentric manner, it distorts our understanding of our own reality and makes it more difficult to learn the appropriate lessons from the past.
The O'Reilly Theatre is fully accessible. You can find information about the accessibility features of the theatre and Keble College here. Please contact us if you have any questions relating to the lecture at equality@admin.ox.ac.uk
