Camden Black Radicals: Race, class, abolition and social reform

SOAS Professor Olivette Otele will deliver the keynote Camden Black Radicals lecture for Camden Council's Black History Season, focusing on early activism, social reform and abolition.

Afterwards, Professor Otele will be joined for an ‘in conversation’ with Charmaine Simpson (CEO Black History Studies) and Sandra Shakespeare (Founder of the Black British Museum Project). The event will be chaired by Athian Akec (social activist and author). 

To celebrate Camden’s role as a hub for Black radical activism from 1770 – 1900, Camden Council are profiling the work of key activists living and/or working in the borough at this time, their significant impact and what this means for people and their lived experiences in Camden today. 

Robert Wedderburn, Olaudah Equiano, William Cuffay and Sarah Parker Remond were concerned with the experiences of people with African Heritage and the immoral injustice of enslavement, calling for abolition. Furthermore, many of these activists also considered the plight of the English working classes, highlighting the injustice of all forms of oppression and the connections between race and class.

This lecture will explore their influential work, its global effect and the ripples of radical social activism which can still be felt in Camden today.

Part of Camden Council's Black History Season which runs from October - December, to celebrate the incredible and wonderful achievements and contributions of Black people across Camden and the UK.

The majority of the events listed in this programme are free, with a small number of events having a Pay What You Can with proceeds going to support the brilliant work of The Black Curriculum.