This October, Oxford Pride is marking Black History Month alongside the city’s Black communities, and in particular the Black LGBTQIA+ people who belong to both.
The national theme for 2026 is “Honouring Our Communities”. Black History Month UK describes it as a call to notice the people who keep community life going: volunteers, teachers, nurses, carers and organisers whose work often goes unrecorded.
That idea lands close to home. Much of Britain’s LGBTQIA+ history was built through informal networks and people looking out for each other, and Black queer and trans people did a great deal of that work, often without credit in the stories told about either Black Britain or Pride. In 1981, Black lesbians and Black gay men in London formed the Gay Black Group, pushed together by a gay scene that was overwhelmingly white, racism inside it and outside it, and families who often saw homosexuality as a “white” issue. With funding from the Greater London Council, the group opened the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre in 1985. It ran a helpline, counselling and a social space, and in 1992 settled in a railway arch in Peckham.
Standing with Black LGBTQIA+ people
Black LGBTQIA+ people do not experience racism and homophobia or transphobia as separate problems. They meet them together, sometimes in the same room. Some find that queer spaces are not built with them in mind; some find that their sexuality or gender is unwelcome in spaces built around race or faith.
Pride has not always got this right. Solidarity has to mean more than a statement in October. For Oxford Pride, it means:
- making sure Black LGBTQIA+ people are visible in our programme, our committee and our volunteers, not only during this month
- listening to Black queer and trans people in Oxford about what they need, rather than deciding for them
- turning up to, and promoting, events led by Black communities
That last point is the easiest to act on this month. Oxford has a full programme.
What’s on in Oxford this October
Talks, theatre, music and exhibitions run across the city all month. Each event below is listed on its organiser’s own page. Check with them before you go, as times and booking can change.
| Date (2026) | Event | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 6 and Wed 7 Oct | Black History Month exhibition (Brookes Union) | John Henry Brookes Building, Oxford Brookes | A timeline of Black British history from 100 AD and the Windrush journey, from the Black Cultural Archives |
| Until Fri 23 Oct | Listen to this story! | JHB Library, Oxford Brookes Headington Campus | Touring exhibition on 200 years of Black representation in British children's books |
| Mon 12 Oct, 4pm to 5pm | This is Our Country Too, Or is it? (Karen Sands-O'Connor) | Online | Black people, belonging and British children's books |
| Tue 13 to Sat 17 Oct | Once Upon a Time in Sokoto (Inua Ellams) | Oxford Playhouse | Play about a friendship between an enslaved woman and her former master, set before the creation of Nigeria |
| Wed 14 Oct, 6pm to 7:30pm | Exploring Identity Through Storytelling: Kit de Waal | Clerici Learning Studio, Oxford Brookes, and online | Kit de Waal on writing, identity and routes into publishing |
| Wed 21 Oct, 5:30pm to 6:30pm | The future isn't neutral: Landé Belo | The Hub, Kellogg College | Race, fairness and equality in the age of AI |
| Wed 21 Oct, 6pm to 7pm | Empowering Leadership through Inclusion: Professor Doyin Atewologun | Saïd Business School, Park End Street | How everyday leadership decisions shape who gets on at work |
| Thu 22 Oct, 5pm to 7pm | The Iconicity of Africa: Professor Adom Getachew | Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Woodstock Road | University of Oxford's annual lecture: how Africa became a symbol for movements for racial solidarity and emancipation |
| Thu 22 Oct, 5:15pm to 8:30pm | Black Excellence Festival (Brookes Union) | Union Hall, John Henry Brookes Building | Play and poetry, a panel and awards, with a keynote from the Lord Mayor |
| Thu 22 Oct, 7pm to 8pm | South African Township Music Concert (St Cross College) | Pusey House Chapel, St Giles | Luyanda and Prudence Jezile perform an hour of township music |
| Thu 29 Oct, 5pm to 6:30pm | St John's College lecture: Professor Mia Bay | Auditorium, Garden Quad, St John's College | Addie B. Hunton and Kathryn M. Johnson, sent to France in 1918 to look into the treatment of segregated Black troops |
The festival keynote comes from Councillor Chewe Munkonge, who took an MBA at Oxford Brookes. He became Oxford’s first Black Lord Mayor when the council elected him in May 2026.
In solidarity
Oxford Pride stands with Black LGBTQIA+ people in Oxford and across the UK. Not only in October.
Black queer and trans people have helped build every gain our communities have made, and they deserve to be seen, heard and safe in every space we create. Racism has no place at Pride. Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia have no place anywhere.
To Black LGBTQIA+ people in Oxford: we see you, we value you, and we are with you.