City Sightseeing Oxford celebrates black history
City Sightseeing Oxford is launching a new tour to celebrate black history in the area.
Oxford Bus Company has teamed up with author of ‘Black Oxford: Untold Stories’, and award-winning producer, Pamela Roberts to offer people a tour celebrating Oxford’s black scholars.
The tour will bring unknown local stories to life including that of pioneer Christian Frederick Cole, the University of Oxford’s first black scholar and Britain’s first black barrister. Passengers will be treated to previously untold stories celebrating Oxford’s black history at some of the city’s most iconic locations, including the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs.
The tour will take place on fixed dates across the summer and will also operate across two weekends in October to mark Black History Month. Guides will be present on the walking stops while Pamela will personally narrate the bus tour.
“We’re proud to have formed such an innovative partnership” – Luke Marion, City Sightseeing Oxford Managing Director
Luke Marion, City Sightseeing Oxford Managing Director, said: “We’re proud to have formed such an innovative partnership that enables us to offer our customers a unique insight into Oxford’s history.
“The visitor economy is vital to the overall economic well-being of the city and the addition of this unique tour forms part of our on-going strategy to deliver a world-class welcome to Oxford, and to showcase the diverse history of our great city.”
“The tour sets out to challenge the misconception that historically black students never studied at the University of Oxford” – Pamela Roberts, founder, and director of ‘Black Oxford: Untold Stories’
Pamela Roberts, founder, and director of ‘Black Oxford: Untold Stories’, said: “The tour sets out to challenge the misconception that historically black students never studied at the University of Oxford.
“When it comes to the University of Oxford’s historic alumni, the names of Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Thatcher, Harold Wilson, and Bill Clinton are familiar to many. But what about its Black scholars?
“Guests will learn about the lives of Oxford’s forgotten black community in a time of adversity. For example, James Aurther Harley, who became the first black scholar at the Pitt Rivers Museum and Kofoworola Moore, Oxford University’s first African woman scholar at St Hugh’s College.”