The George Bridgetower Essay Competition: Deadline for submissions Monday 3rd April 2023

The George Bridgetower Essay Prize Competition 2023

The second annual Bridgetower Essay Prize competition has been launched by the Alexander Crummel Fund Action Group for 2023. The purpose of this essay competition is to stimulate intellectual discourse on themes related to the work of the ACF Action Group and provide an opportunity for students to make original contributions to this important field of study. The value of the prize is £1000.

The two essay topic options are:

a) As suggested by the Legacies of Enslavement Report, "intellectual and scientific justification for racism, including those developed at Cambridge, have long played a significant role in underpinning and supporting everyday racist assumptions of racial inequality and particularly of Black inferiority."   To what extent does Cambridge, as an academic institution, challenge the myth of Black inferiority?

b) The Legacies of Enslavement Report states "intellectual and scientific justification for racism, including those developed at Cambridge, have long played a significant role in underpinning and supporting everyday racist assumptions of racial inequality and particularly of Black inferiority."  To what extent is an academic institution like Cambridge implicated in the erasure and undervaluing of Black existence and knowledge-making in spaces like Cambridge?

Submissions are accepted up to noon on Monday 3rd April 2023 via email to gbesubmissions@admin.cam.ac.uk.

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Last year's winner, Maya McFarlane, 2022

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The Black Advisory Hub spoke to the Cambridge undergraduate who won the inaugural 2022 George Bridgewater essay prize, to find out more about her experience in taking part in the competition and the inspiration for her essay. 

Click here for some of her reflections about her experience in writing the essay and receiving the award.