The inaugural George Bridgetower Essay Prize was awarded last week to sociology undergraduate Maya McFarlane (pictured in the George Bridgetower Room).
Named after a virtuoso violinist and composer, who was awarded his degree at Cambridge while at Trinity Hall in 1811, the award was created this year.
The competition asked students to address the question of how the university has changed as a space for Black students over time.
This year’s winner was 20 year old Maya McFarlane, a 3rd year undergraduate from Pembroke College who received the news of her success at a ceremony held in the George Bridgetower Room in Trinity Hall.
One of the judges for the competition was Professor Adam Branch, Director of the Centre for African Studies. He is also a Fellow at Trinity Hall:
“This essay competition is part of a process to better understand the concerns of Black students at Cambridge and to ensure that the University is actively addressing both the overt and the more hidden forms of inequality and injustice they face. It’s also an important opportunity to recognize those students who are at the forefront of articulating and analysing these challenges and of illuminating the paths to move beyond them.”
For more on this see the University of Cambridge’s story.
