The Claudia Jones Memorial Lecture 2012 took place this year in Newcastle for the first time and celebrated the 45th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King receiving an honorary doctorate at Newcastle University. The lecture is organised every year in October - Black History Month - by the National Union of Journalists and commemorates Claudia Jones, the journalist, trade unionist and campaigner for social justice who launched the Notting Hill Carnival and Britain’s first Black Newspaper, The West Indian Gazette. This year’s lecture departs from the usual single speaker format to feature voices from the worlds of journalism, academia and politics who will all bring different perspectives to the theme: The legacy of Dr Martin Luther King.

Speakers:

• Professor Brian Ward, Northumbria University
• Jim Boumelha, President of the International Federation of Journalists
• Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle
• Dr Connie St Louis, Chair of the Association of British Science Writers
• Dr Gerald L. Durley, Civil Rights Leader
• Alex Pascall, African Caribbean Communicator 
• Lionel Morrison