George Bridgetower Essay Competition

George Bridgetower Essay Competition 2026

The annual Bridgetower Essay Prize Competition was launched in partnership with the Black Advisory Hub (BAH) and the Alexander Crummell Fund (ACF). The purpose of this essay competition is to stimulate intellectual discourse on themes related to the work of the Black Advisory Hub and provides an opportunity for students to make original contributions to conversations about Black student experiences at Cambridge.  

The essay question

“I wanted to honour the first African American graduate of Cambridge University. This is a way of paying homage to the ancestors... a way, as they say, of paying it forward”  (Henry Louis Gates Jr, 2022).  How does the concept of Black ‘legacy’ – past, present or future – shape the way you navigate this institution?
 

The prize 

The winning essay will receive £1000. Shortlisted essay writers will be commended by the Pro Vice Chancellor of Education, Professor Bhaskar Vira and the co-chairs of the Black Advisory Hub, Tyra Amofah-Akardom and Sonita Alleyne, Master of Jesus College. A prize giving ceremony will be held in October 2026.  

Due date

The submission date will be announced shortly.  

Guidelines

Essays must be a maximum of 2,500 words, not counting any footnotes or your reference list.  The essay must be written in English. The essay may be a piece of work already produced for an entrant’s degree, but students should declare this as part of their submission and are asked to declare that the essay is all their own work.   While the competition celebrates the classic essay genre, we also welcome creative interpretations of the 'essay', as long as they display an equivalent level of academic rigour. 

For the first time, the competition also welcomes video essay submissions. Video essays should present a clear, coherent argument that engages critically with the essay question and demonstrates scholarly depth comparable to a written submission. Further guidance on format, length, and submission requirements for video entries will be provided shortly. 

Judging Criteria 

The submitted essays will be assessed by a judging panel made up of students and staff associated with the Black Advisory Hub based on the following criteria: 

  • Originality/ application of the author's personal voice and experience    
  • Strength of argument in response to the essay prompt  
  • Persuasiveness of point of view and positionality  
  • Clarity of communication and presentation  
  • Adeptness of balance between reflective and scholarly perspectives  
  • Rigorousness of referencing, where relevant, with appropriate source material
  • (Optional) Creativity of interpretation of the essay format 


Eligibility 

George Bridgetower was one of the first Black students to be awarded a degree at Cambridge. The George Bridgetower Essay Prize was established to create space for Black knowledge-making practices. The prize is therefore open to any current self-identifying Black student, undergraduate or postgraduate, at the University of Cambridge.   

Essay writers must be a current Cambridge student, either undergraduate or postgraduate. Students who have recently completed their studies in the 2025-2026 academic year are also eligible.  

Background to the competition

This essay competition was established by the Alexander Crummell Fund, which was initiated to provide ongoing support for anti-racism work at the University and funded through philanthropic donors including Professor Henry Louis Gates JR. This is the third year of the competition, which is currently coordinated by the Black Advisory Hub.

It is named after George Bridgetower, who studied at Trinity Hall and was awarded a music degree in 1811. The competition was founded to provide a forum for students to share their insights into historical and contemporary experiences of race at Cambridge, and create space for Black knowledge-making practices.

Previous competition winners

  • 2024:  (a joint prize)
    • Dara Osinowo (Human, Social & Political Sciences undergraduate, Downing College
    • Apeike Umolu (History MPhil student, Queens' College).  To read the essays, please go to this page (Raven password protected)
  • 2023: Antonia Antrobus-Higgins, a Human, Social & Political Sciences undergraduate (Murray Edwards College).
  • 2022: Maya MacFarlane, a Human, Social & Political Sciences undergraduate (Pembroke College).

Contact

For more information about this year's competition, or even to check in about your proposed essay response with a student member of the Black Advisory Hub team, you are warmly welcome to get in touch.  Email us at: contact@blackadvisory.hub.cam.ac.uk