Laurence Westgaph

Laurence Westgaph (born 28 February 1975), is a political activist and television presenter, specialising in Black British history and slavery.
Early years, education and legal issues
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.
In 2000, when he was in his early 20s, he was given a community order after being found to have had sex with a 15-year-old girl. The judge noted, however that she had given "every impression" of being older. In 2009 he was convicted of grievous body harm after attacking a friend who had begun a relationship with his ex-partner. Recently an article was published questioning NML whether it sufficiently explored Westgaph's past before appointing him to a role at the museum.
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.
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.
Select engagements
* 05.04.22 - BBC - Liverpool slavery street plaque unveiling a 'milestone moment'
* 02.04.24 - dot art - Plaque Celebrating Frederick Douglass Unveiled at Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre
* 15.07.24 - Echo - Man at heart of his community 'saw people in need and helped'
* 19.01.25 - The Guardian - Brown Brothers Harriman’s slavery links exposed by Liverpool campaign

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