The St Catharine's community is involved in a wide range of activities during Black History Month 2024. A provisional programme is below, which will be updated as plans are finalised:
- 11am–12pm on Monday 30 September: Meet up for postgraduate students in the MCR, with tea, coffee and homemade snacks.
- Tuesday 1 October & Thursday 31 October: The College will fly the flag of The Bahamas for the fifth year in a row to commemorate our first Black student A.F. Adderley (1912, Law). New profiles paying tribute to the second generation of Black students from The Bahamas who followed in his footsteps have been published especially for Black History Month:
- The Hon Paul Adderley (1947, Law), who served as Attorney General and Acting Governor-General of The Bahamas
- The Rt Revd Michael Eldon (1949, Theology), the first Black Bishop of The Bahamas
- Gurth Archer (1959, History), who rose through the Bahamian civil service to become permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office
- During October: An exhibition celebrating these four Black alumni from The Bahamas at the entrance to the Hall.
- During October: An exhibition in the Shakeshaft Library celebrating the achievements of two Black alumni:
- Dr Cecil Belfield Clarke (1914, Natural Sciences), doctor and civil rights activist
- Wendell Mottley (1964, Economics), Olympic sprinter and politician in Trinidad and Tobago
- During October: A policy brief on Lifting Barriers to Black Academia will be launched in Parliament, based on reports co-authored by Malik Al Nasir, History PhD student at St Catharine’s, and alumna L’myah Sherae (2019, International Relations & Politics), with the support of another alumna Naomi Abayasekara (2021, Classics). Sir John Benger (1979, English), Master of St Catharine’s, will be attending this event with representatives from the Black student community at St Catharine’s as his guests. (Cancelled by the organisers due to unforeseen circumstances.)
- 4pm on Saturday 12 October: Student-organised care packages will be available for students to collect from the Bar.
- 3pm on Thursday 17 October: Special event in the College's Tea@3 series, organised to encourage everyone to take a break from work/studying and connect over refreshments.
- Saturday 26 October: A tea-blending session for postgraduate students, celebrating Black tea culture.
- 7pm on Monday 28 October: Special seminar and panel discussion celebrating Black excellence in research at St Catharine's as part of our Postgraduates’ and Fellows’ Seminar Series, open to any St Catharine’s undergraduates, postgraduates, staff and Fellows who can attend.
- 3-5pm on Wednesday 30 October: The Black Advisory Hub Students' Social Afternoon Tea for all Black students from across the University of Cambridge, hosted by St John’s College. Find out more and RSVP.
- Saturday 16 November: Adderley Society Annual Dinner bringing together Black/mixed Black students and alumni on what would have been the 133rd birthday of the College’s first Black student.
