[Watch] Santilla Chingaipe: Black Convicts

Changemaker Santilla Chingaipe is joined by Sisonke Msimang to explore Australia’s forgotten history of slavery, race and empire.

Best known for her award-winning documentary Our African Roots, Santilla Chingaipe is one of Australia’s leading filmmakers and historians. In November 2024, Chingaipe returned to The Wheeler Centre for an exclusive conversation with acclaimed writer and activist Sisonke Msimang, to delve into the stories that inspired her debut book, uncovering the hidden legacy of slavery in Australia. Together, they examine how empire, race and memory continue to shape our nation’s identity.

In 2023, Chingaipe delivered the E.W. Cole Lecture, which posited the vital question of ‘who gets to write history?’ A year later, she builds on that inquiry, offering a fresh and urgent perspective on Australia’s past and present.

Witness two powerful voices as they discuss the complexities of history, identity and truth.