Laurence Westgaph

Laurence Westgaph (born 28 February 1975), is a political activist and television presenter, specialising in Black British history and slavery.

Early years and education
Westgaph was born in Liverpool in 1975 to a mother of Nigerian descent and a Jamaican father. He grew up in the inner city area of Toxteth. His ancestors also hail from Barbados and he is a descendant of slave trader Robert Cox.

Westgaph left school at the age of 16. In 2008 he completed a master's degree in Atlantic History at Liverpool University.

Career
Westgaph began work as a model in Liverpool. He invested his earnings in property in the deprived Toxteth area of Liverpool. Westgaph became a vocal campaigner for regeneration of the area, helping to introduce new business and housing developments into the area.

Westgaph was given a Black Achievers Award for his work raising the profile of the history of Liverpool. He had produced a pamphlet titled "Read the signs" examining the history of Liverpool street names.

Westgaph has appeared in a number of BBC TV and radio programmes. He worked on Inside Out and worked with Melvyn Bragg on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Routes of English, discussing slavery. He was part of a team who made a series for the History Channel in 2008 called 50 Things You Need To Know About British History. However it faced criticism for failing to include the likes of Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria. Westgaph also filmed a documentary for the History Channel titled Britain's Slavery Secrets, examining the history of the slave trade. Other figures he has worked with include John Peel and Trevor Phillips.

He is a founder member of the Liverpool Black Leadership Forum and is currently writing his first book and working on a PhD. He produced a guide to Liverpool's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade for Historic England and gives walking tours in Liverpool covering the topic. In 2020 he became the historian-in-residence at National Museums Liverpool, with the aim of supporting the group to become anti-racist.

Lectures, presentations, talks, interviews and exhibitions
Westgaph has given a number of lectures, presentations and exhibitions on the subject of Liverpool history and slavery for institutions including (and not limited to):


 * 25.11.17 - The Bluecoat: Bluecoat 300: Charity, Philanthropy and the Black Atlantic
 * 2020 - Museum of Liverpool: L8 Unseen (now available in The Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre)
 * 02.10.20 - Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: Liverpool Philanthropy, Slavery and Empire
 * 03.10.20 - Liverpool Parish Church: Liverpool commemorates the city's first black citizen
 * 27.10.20 - Open Eye Gallery: Liverpool Slavery Virtual Tour
 * 23.08.21 - Mayor Joanne Anderson in conversation with Laurence Westgaph
 * 11.10.21 - Sefton Park Palm House: Sculpture, Philanthropy and Liverpool's Slave Trade
 * 2021 - Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre: Liverpool Men Speak out about Racism. You Talk We Listen
 * 2021 - Front Left Podcast: HIS-story FT Laurence Westgraph! (Liverpool's History Within Slavery)
 * 2021 - Liverpool FC: Jordan Henderson & Trent Alexander-Arnold discuss Black History Month
 * 2021 - Sky Arts: Statues Redressed
 * 2021 - Cheshire & Merseyside Health & Care Partnership: Cheshire and Merseyside Philanthropy, Slavery and Empire
 * 2021 - Liverpool Podcast Studios
 * Psychopathy, Truth and the Slave Trade: Liverpool, Caribbean and America W/Laurence Westgaph, part 1
 * Psychopathy, Truth and the Slave Trade: Liverpool, Caribbean and America W/Laurence Westgaph, part 2
 * 2021 - Liverpool Black Men's Group: Liverpool Community Podcast
 * Identity
 * Black Presence
 * Conversation with Laurence Westgaph
 * Activism
 * 2021/2022 - National Museums Liverpool, Slavery Histories
 * Church of our Lady & St Nicholas
 * St John's Gardens
 * Colquitt Street
 * Town Hall
 * Allerton Towers
 * High Street
 * Water Street
 * William Brown Street
 * 2021/2022 - University of Liverpool, Hidden Histories
 * 19 - 23 Abercromby Square
 * 11.03.22 - Africa Oye: Oye World Pod
 * 24.03.22 - National Museums Liverpool, Lady Lever Art Gallery: Uncovering African presence in Merseyside with Laurence Westgaph
 * 2022 - Liverpool Against Racism Conference: Liverpool: Before and Beyond Slavery
 * 2023 - Ean Flanders Exhibition: The Descendants
 * 23.08.23 - National Museums of Liverpool: Dorothy Kuya Memorial Lecture - Professor Hakim Adi, Q&A Chaired by Laurence Westgaph

Personal interests and activism
He is a member of the Liverpool Black Men's Group, established in May 2020 to provide a forum for discussion of issues pertaining to the Black experience in Liverpool, with the hope that it can inspire Black men to become politically and socially active within Liverpool and further afield.