BOOKS
Stories uncovered. Stories continued. Stories brought to life.
The books behind Black Oxford Untold Stories began with a question:
Who were the Black scholars who came to Oxford — and why had so few of their stories entered the history we were taught?
Through years of research, archival discovery and storytelling, Pamela Roberts has brought these lives into the public record.
From Oxford's first Black scholar and Britain's first Black barrister, Christian Frederick Cole, to Alain LeRoy Locke, James Arthur Harley and a new generation of Black scholars, these books reveal histories that deserve to be known.
BLACK OXFORD
The Untold Stories of Oxford University's Black Scholars
NEW, SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED AND EXTENDED EDITION
OCTOBER 2026
The story that began in 2013 continues.
This new edition of Black Oxford draws on more than a decade of further research to revisit and expand the stories of Black scholars connected with the University of Oxford.
It includes Christian Frederick Cole, Britain's first Black barrister; Alain LeRoy Locke, intellectual architect of the Harlem Renaissance; 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 Cecil Rhodes and the Rhodes Scholarships, alongside the barriers and prejudices encountered by Black scholars.
Tracing Oxford's Black history from the nineteenth century to the present, this is a story of scholarship, achievement, resistance, visibility and belonging.
The story has changed.
The research has grown.
And Black Oxford continues.
DISCOVER THE NEW EDITION →
Published October 2026
THE ADVENTURES OF A BLACK EDWARDIAN INTELLECTUAL
The Story of Antiguan Scholar James Arthur Harley
James Arthur Harley's life reads like a journey across the Black Atlantic.
Born in Antigua, Harley travelled through the Caribbean, the United States and Britain, pursuing education and intellectual opportunity at a time when race, class and empire shaped the possibilities available to Black people.
His journey brought him to Oxford in 1907, where he was a contemporary and friend of Alain LeRoy Locke.
Through meticulous historical detective work, Pamela Roberts reconstructs Harley's remarkable life — his education, intellectual ambitions, experiences of racism, political engagement, relationships and determination to create a life on his own terms.
But this is more than the story of one man.
It opens a window onto Black intellectual life in the early twentieth century and the networks connecting the Caribbean, America, Britain and Oxford.
DISCOVER JAMES ARTHUR HARLEY →
Published 2022
BLACK OXFORD
The Untold Stories of
Oxford University's
Black Scholars
THE ORIGINAL EDITION | 2013
This is where the Black Oxford story began.
Published by Signal Books in 2013, the original Black Oxford uncovered a largely overlooked strand of the University's history — the lives and contributions of Black scholars who had studied at Oxford over generations.
The book introduced readers to remarkable figures including Christian Frederick Cole, who came to Oxford in 1873 and became the first African to practise in an English court; Alain LeRoy Locke, the first Black Rhodes Scholar; and Grantley Adams, who went on to become the first Premier of Barbados.
It also brought lesser-known Black students and scholars into the story, challenging the familiar narrative of Oxford and revealing the University's longstanding connections with Africa, the Caribbean, America and the wider Commonwealth.
The 2013 edition laid the foundation for what would become Black Oxford Untold Stories — a much wider cultural project bringing these histories to audiences through books, tours, talks, exhibitions, film and creative work.
EXPLORE THE ORIGINAL EDITION →
Published 2013 | Signal Books
THE STORY CONTINUES....
From the first edition in 2013 to the substantially expanded edition in 2026, the research has continued to grow.
And there are still more stories to uncover.
Read the books.
Discover the people.
Explore Black Oxford Untold Stories