Rapper and music producer AJ Tracey and St Peter’s College Oxford are delighted to be partnering in supporting Black students, Black student life, and research into Black histories and experience through the formation of The AJ Tracey Fund.
The The AJ Tracey Fund offers invaluable support for initiatives in train within the College that recognize the historic under-representation of Black students at Oxford. This includes work addressing issues of access and under-representation, expanding opportunities for Black mentorship, supporting the student experience of those from low-income backgrounds, enabling developmental opportunities for Black role models and leaders of the future, and encouraging work on the Black experience, Black representation, and Black histories. AJ will be donating £40,000 per year for three years, after which it will be reviewed.
AJ Tracey has been a very welcome visitor in and out of St Peter’s College across the past year, speaking at length with students and staff to gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities for Black students in Oxford. St Peter’s College is delighted to welcome him back for the inaugural AJ Tracey Dinner for students, as part of the College’s ongoing celebration of Black History Month. Ahead of the dinner, AJ Tracey will also be speaking at the Oxford Union.
Judith Buchanan, Head of the College shares: “We are delighted that AJ Tracey has become a close friend of St Peter’s College. We welcome the useful questions he asks about Black experience in Oxford and his attentive interest in the wellbeing of our students. He has already provided inspirational encouragement to Black students within the College, and to us all. With his generous support, we look forward to seeing current and future talented Black students flourish in their time here and move out into the world as the confident, bold, thoughtful, and creative leaders of the future across fields. AJ Tracey’s own personal commitment to seeing our students thrive in their time at Oxford sits at the heart of the generous support he is providing.”
The fund will complement ongoing initiatives at St Peter’s College and the University of Oxford dedicated to widening access and attracting students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply.