Events

For Black History Month 2026, the Library and Archives have come together to celebrate the theme "Honouring Our Community" by exploring our rich collections and archives to highlight and honour inspirational Black students and leaders from the Loughborough community. Through the stories of individuals such as the Martin brothers from Ethiopia and Malcolm Joseph-Mitchell, this exhibition shines a light on their achievements, contributions, and lasting impact. By uncovering and sharing these important histories, we celebrate the diversity, resilience, and excellence that continue to shape our community today. The exhibition can be viewed in the Library exhibition space, floor 3, Pilkington Library throughout October 2026.

In connection with the Annual Paulo Freire Lecture, two side events will be hosted. The first event is a talk by Professor Juciano Lucerda and Professor Thomas Tufte titled: Health Communication in the Global South. 

In connection with the Annual Paulo Freire Lecture, two side events will be hosted. The second event is a live podcast hosted by Dr Pedro Oliveira from the Universität der Künste Berlin and Dr Courtney N. Reed from Loughborough University London. 

Launched in 2022, the Paulo Freire Annual Lecture is organised each Autumn by the Institute for Creative Futures to coincide with Freire’s birthday. The event features a leading thinker or activist whose work embodies the Freirean principles of social justice, critical pedagogy, and democratic transformation. 

This year, Dr Katucha Bento, specialising in Critical Race Studies, Decolonial thought, Queer Studies, and Afrofuturism, will give the lecture at Loughborough University London.

What did ordinary British people think about empire and ‘race’ at the cusp of decolonisation? In this talk, Prof Marcus Collins will use newly unearthed evidence of audience reactions to a flagship BBC series about the British empire to examine whether popular imperialism endured until the end of empire or whether the Suez Crisis of 1956 convinced the general public that decolonisation was a necessary, even desirable outcome. This talk is open to all and forms part of IRPH’s Research Day, which also showcases two BHM roundtables about researching Africa and ‘race’ in the humanities and social sciences and Thoralf Klein’s talk on a major figure in newly independent Tanzania who was educated at the Cooperative College just outside Loughborough.

All are welcome to attend the roundtable discussion by Poppy Cullen, Doyin Oyerinde and Thoralf Klein, which is part of the International Relations, Politics and History Research Day. 

All are welcome to attend the roundtable discussion by Catherine Armstrong, Tom Frost, and Marcus Collins, which is part of the International Relations, Politics and History Research Day. 

“Sir” Clement George Kahama (1929–2017) was an influential figure in post-independence Tanzania. A graduate of the Cooperatives College just outside Loughborough, he went on to become a member of the Tanzanian parliament, held various cabinet posts, represented his country as ambassador, served as general manager of the National Development Corporation and was responsible for the relocation of Tanzania’s capital. In the talk, Dr Thoralf Klein will not only explore how Kahama’s career was intertwined with Tanzania’s development, but his own process of assembling information on him. Finally, the talk will discuss what significance Kahama’s connection with Loughborough might have for our understanding of Black history and postcolonialism in a local context. This talk is open to all and forms part of IRPH’s Research Day, which also showcases two BHM roundtables about researching Africa and ‘race’ and Marcus Collins’ talk about popular imperialism and ‘race’ in 1950s Britain.

Virtually the only thing in common between African, Asian and Caribbean migrants to postwar Britain was that they looked different and from the indigenous white population and they were treated differently as a result. That aside, they came from very different parts of the world that had bequeathed them different economic, cultural and religious backgrounds. So how did the attitudes and experiences of West Indians settling in Britain compare to those of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangadeshis and West Africans? In this session, Prof Marcus Collins will invite participants to participate in an interactive quiz based on his research of polling and survey data from the period to discover the similarities and differences between the experiences of different migrant groups, and to ascertain whether they found common ground in the face of racism.