Confronting the Past: The Importance of Acknowledgement and Repair

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The inaugural Sir Tom Hopkinson lecture to be delivered by Laura Trevelyan, the former BBC journalist and campaigner for reparative justice for the victims of the slave trade.

Sir Tom was a pioneer in journalism education. After many years as an editor, which included publishing the first photographs of South Africa’s Sharpeville massacre, he founded the Centre for Journalism Studies in Cardiff. He powerfully advocated journalism’s function in a democratic society, saying, “A free press is the most watchful sentry of the state. A ‘yes’ press is fatal to good government”. The lecture series will explore themes related to media and democracy.

Laura Trevelyan is a journalist and advocate who was an anchor and correspondent for BBC News. She is both an alum and an honorary fellow of Cardiff University. Laura left BBC News in March 2023 after a thirty-year career, following her family’s historic trip to Grenada, where she led the Trevelyans’ public apology to the Grenadian people for the role of their ancestors in enslaving Africans on the island. She is a co-founder of Heirs of Slavery, a group of British people whose ancestors profited from the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean.