Laura Trevelyan says her success was linked to slavery after she left the BBC to confront colonialism

EXCLUSIVE: Laura Trevelyan said her professional success can be traced back to Britain’s colonial history after leaving the BBC this week to tackle her family’s slave-trading legacy.

In an interview with Deadline, the former BBC World News presenter said she felt personally responsible for her slave-owning ancestors on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

Trevelyan also urged King Charles III to appropriately confront the British royal family on slavery in light of a growing showdown between Commonwealth nations in the Caribbean.

The 54-year-old enjoyed a 30-year career at the BBC presenting programmes, including Emmy-winning shows BBC World News America. She left this week to join the restorative justice movement for the Caribbean.

“My own social and professional status, almost 200 years after abolition, is almost certainly tied to the wealth and status our family achieved, at least in part, through slavery,” she said. “There is no coincidence. The past determines the present.”

Trevelyan, who is married to former ABC News boss James Goldston, and her family apologized to the people of Grenada last month because their ancestors owned more than 1,000 slaves on six sugar plantations.

Trevelyan said she will use her storytelling experience and public platform to raise awareness of efforts to eradicate the legacy of colonialism in the Caribbean. She doesn’t have a formal role yet, but said she will be a “roving advocate of restorative justice.”

She explained: “It’s definitely a leap of faith, but a way has emerged. This is an opportunity and I may be uniquely positioned [to embrace this role] because I am a descendant of slave owners and because I am not afraid to answer any related questions.”

Trevelyan was forced to take up the case after she traveled to Grenada last year to film a BBC documentary about her family’s slave trading history. She said the trip had a “profound” impact and helped her understand that the legacy of slavery lives on, not least because Grenada’s epidemic of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes can be traced back to colonialism.

“We signed our apology and gave it to the Prime Minister of Grenada, and he thanked us and forgave us and said he hoped it would be a turning point in the fight for restorative justice,” Trevelyan said of her visit last month . in which she donated a £100,000 ($121,000) recovery fund.

Trevelyan said she felt “liberated” to speak out on the issue of slavery after leaving the BBC, which holds staff to strict rules of impartiality. “I’m ready to have my own voice and I feel like this is a story I hope to tell with the Caribbean,” she explained.

To that end, she felt able to criticize the British royal family for the first time, arguing that their current attitude of “regret” over slavery “is no longer really enough”.

Trevelyan said: “It is very important for the king to realize that in the early days the royal family was instrumental in sanctioning the slave trade. The Royal Africa Company was approved by the royal family in the 17th century. Slaves were branded with the initials of the Duke of York and he later became king.

“In a very British way, none of that is acknowledged… his coronation, or the months after the coronation, is an opportunity to acknowledge the painful past that is shared. I would expressly encourage him to do so.”

During a visit to the Caribbean last year, Prince William said slavery was abhorrent, “should never have happened” and “stains forever on our history”.

Trevelyan signed off earlier this week and thanked them BBC World News America audience and said it was an “absolute honour” to host the show.