Black History Month at Warwick
Find out about the events, lectures, exhibitions and activities happening across the University to mark Black History Month, as well as useful resources available all year-round.
Centre for Caribbean Studies: Prof. Thomas Glave book launch
- Date: 13 October, 4-5:30pm.
- Location: S0.09 Social Sciences Building
The Centre for Caribbean Studies presents an afternoon discussing the 'En Pointe, Off Kilter' book launch by Prof. Thomas Glave (University of Binghampton).
Prof. Thomas Glave has been a Martin Luther King Jr Visiting Professor at MIT, a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge, Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the University of Warwick, and an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool. A trustee of Writing West Midlands (UK), Glave is an editor of Transition and was a 2022 Fulbright Scholar at the University of Nottingham.
Warwick Arts Centre: Black is the colour of my voice
- Date: 13 October, 7.30pm
- Location: Warwick Arts Centre
Inspired by the life of Nina Simone, and featuring many of her most iconic songs performed live.
Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed play follows a successful singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Warwick Arts Centre: We Were Here - Stephanie Phillips and Pauline Black
- Date: 15 October, 7.45pm
- Location: Warwick Arts Centre
Join musician and arts journalist Stephanie Phillips as she reclaims the history of rock ’n’ roll.
Stephanie will be in conversation with performer, singer, artist, band leader and songwriter, Pauline Black discussing a history of Black people and alternative music.
Black History Month Lecture 2026: Prof Olivette Otele
- Date: 21 October, 5:30-6:30pm
- Location: Zeeman Building, B3.03
Join Warwick Law School for their Black History Month Lecture: When will Black history become mandatory in England's national curriculum?
In Wales, a community-led movement has changed the nation's school curriculum, ensuring all pupils across Wales are taught Black history. Professor Olivette Otele, Distinguished Research Professor of the Legacies and Memory of Slavery at SOAS University, will tell the story of the activists who led the campaign, asking when will England commit to including Black history in the curriculum?
Warwick Student Cinema: Black History Month films
Warwick Student Cinema have a packed Term 1 agenda of film screenings for just £3, including the following films throughout October as part of Black History Month:
- Monday 5 October, 7:30pm - Cool Runnings
- Tuesday 13 October, 7:30pm - Dream Girls
- Sunday 18 October, 6:30pm - The Wiz
- Friday 22 October, 6:30pm and 9:30pm - BlacKkKlansman
Warwick Law School: Black Arts Showcase
The 6th annual Black Arts Showcase returns, hosted by the Law School in collaboration with student societies: BASE Law and black [untitled]:- Date: 21 October, 6.30pm
- Location: Law School Hub
The Library: Explore Black History Month through collections
To celebrate this year's Black History Month theme, ‘Honouring Our Communities’, the Library is hosting a book display in the Floor 1 Display Cabinet. The display highlights information, resources, and books from the Library's Ethnicity and Migration collection, which comprises the collections the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations (CRER), and the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). The IRR collection was developed by Ambalavaner Sivanandan, who was one of the UK’s foremost theorists of race and race relations.
This year’s display will feature a table of books which students can borrow, offering opportunities to explore Black History Month in greater depth. The selection will be refreshed throughout the month, so return to discover new titles.
To get started online, take a look at the Decolonisation and the Library topic guideLink opens in a new window, which was co-created with students and provides information about the library's electronic resources, the MRC’s primary sources, indigenous research methods, and citational justice.
Blogs, videos, books, podcasts and resources
To promote and celebrate Black history, we've created a list of blogs, videos, books, podcasts, resources, and events that we hope will get you thinking, help you learn more, and start conversations.
Even when it's no longer Black History Month, it’s important to remember that Black history shouldn’t just be celebrated for only one month of the year, which is why we have this information available all year round.
Please find below all of the content we have collated, so you can read/watch/listen to the materials in October and beyond.
Warwick SU: Supporting Black History Month
Warwick SU is supporting this year's BlackHistoryMonth.org.uk
theme, 'Honouring our Communities', to recognise the individuals whose everyday contributions shape, support and sustain Black life across the United Kingdom.
This theme is not simply about place or postcode. It is about people.
Across Britain, there are individuals whose contributions are part of everyday life, yet too often go unseen. Volunteers who give their time without expectation. Teachers who shape futures beyond the classroom. Nurses and carers who offer dignity and compassion. Community leaders who bring people together, often without recognition.
These are the people who help to hold our communities together.
Congratulating our Honorary Graduates
Congratulations to Delroy Beverley and Jacqueline Roberts, two of our esteemed Honorary Graduates, who have been recognised as part of Honouring Black Britain 2026: a national initiative celebrating individuals whose leadership, service and commitment have made a meaningful contribution to British life and to their communities. See pages 70 and 89 in the magazine below.