Slavery speaker and award-winning Photo-Journalist Jeremy Hunter Travels Through the Slave Routes.

16th Sep 2022

Slavery speaker Jeremy Hunter is a world-renowned UNESCO award-winning photojournalist and travel speaker, who has taken photographs in some of the world’s most hostile environments, as well as a writer, presenter, documentary maker and speaker on global issues.

As a speaker, Jeremy provides anecdotes to his audiences, covering a range of travels, from reporting on the civil war in Lebanon to the democratic elections in Portugal and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, from the war in Ukraine to global dictators and the secrecy in North Korea. 

With the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, Slavery and BLM has become one of the most powerful narratives in the world; and mankind has been woken up to events, centuries ago, that had previously been air-brushed from history, especially in the UK where these had represented the unacceptable face of Britain’s imperial governance.

But one of his most popular docu-talks is on The Brooks, a British slave ship from the 18th Century. 

Jeremy Hunter award winning English advertising photographer slavery speaker photojournalist north korea at Great British Speakers

A Slavery Speaker who travels through the Slave Routes –

On his journey, Jeremy found made surviving relics of the slave trade, which sparked further research into the real story of The Brooks, a 297-ton ship built in Liverpool in 1781 specifically for transporting Africans across the Atlantic. The ship had 10 successful voyages, carrying 5,163 slaves, of which only 4,559 survived. 

One thing that Jeremy found out from this research, is that the Brooks, whilst licensed to carry only 482 people at a time, frequently exceeded this, carrying a staggering 740 on one such trip. Thomas Clarkson managed to board the ship, where he made a detailed sketch of how the slaves – who were considered nothing more than commodities – were stowed below deck like “herrings in a barrel”. 

Thanks to his bravery, the sketch went viral and in turn, helped achieve the Act abolishing the slave trade in 1807, with slavery finally being banned in 1838 with the Slavery Abolition Act, almost directly as a result of Clarkson’s drawing; and later with the parliamentary support of William Wilberforce MP.

Slavery speaker Jeremy understands that slavery – and racism – is a very painful subject and so has prepared an informative, powerful but sensitive docu-talk, offering respect to those who suffered the most unspeakable acts of violence and death. 

Slavery Speaker and award winning photo journalist Jeremy Hunter Black History Month Great British Speakers

The Parallels Between the Slave Routes and Modern Discrimination –

In time for Black History Month, Jeremy combines the photographs and videos he gathered from travelling through Benin (formerly Dahomey, the Slave Coast) and Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast), from where 2.5 million people were enslaved and shipped across the Middle Passage to the Caribbean and United States.

His images document the history of slavery and discrimination in a parallel to modern-day discrimination concerns which are only set to spark further conversation about Black equality and the lack of inclusion and diversity, which is still apparent in today’s society.

Slavery is a painful subject so this highly visual ‘docu-talk’ has been prepared with the greatest reverence for those who suffered the most unspeakable acts of violence, terror and death. It utilises many contemporary descriptive first-person sources from the period, and addresses both sides of the trade, not just the parts that so many do not want to recognise today.

To find out more about slavery speaker Jeremy’s talks on the slave trade – or any of his other talks – visit his bio page HERE.

Slavery Speaker Jeremy Hunter – Books:

ARIRANG – North Korean Propaganda (Olympus)

Sacred Festivals (MQP, London) – Book Club Association “Choice”

Fetes Sacrees (Albin Michel, Paris)

Heilige Feste (Nicolai Verlag, Berlin)

Let’s Celebrate – Myth and Narrative (telefoto)

Let’s Celebrate – 365 (telefoto)

Let’s Celebrate – Tibet (telefoto)

Slavery Speaker Jeremy Hunter on the Radio:

Talks on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Wales,  BBC Radio Derby,  NewsTalk Radio Ireland, BBC “From Our Own Correspondent” – North Korea;

BBC Radio Scotland- “The Culture Club”

BBC World Service, with Mark Coles

BBC Radio 4 “Saturday Live” with John McCarthy

From Our Own Correspondent/North Korea
(listen to the program on BBC World Service North Korea item starts at 04’.56″)

Slavery Speaker Jeremy Hunter on the Television:

BBC, CNN, Australian Broadcasting

Jeremy-Hunter-award-winning-advertising-slavery-speaker-photographer-photojournalist-book-at-Great-British-Speakers

Hire Keynote Slavery Speaker, Jeremy Hunter

He has worked in television news and current affairs over many years as on-screen reporter and documentary producer (NIR-TV Tehran, Granada TV, Spafax, BBC and C4) and has experience of working in seventy countries across five continents enabling him to produce a series of unique talks.

To find out more about finding the perfect Black History Month speakers go to our EVENT AWARENESS DAYS CALENDAR page on Black History Month HERE

With racism and slavery a hot topic, slavery speaker Jeremy Hunter is a captivating and knowledgeable speaker, perfect for any interested audience. To hire Jeremy, contact Jane Farnham and Steve Denison at bookings@greatbritishtalent.com or call Great British Talent on +44 1753 439 289.

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