Early Years
“This is not about retribution and anger... it is about the building of bridges across lines of moral justice.”
Sir Hillary McDonald Beckles, a distinguished son of Barbados, was born August 11, 1955. He attended the Coleridge and Parry Secondary School in Speightstown, Barbados before migrating to the United Kingdom to complete his education at Pitmaston Secondary School. His early years in Barbados bred his passion for the sport of cricket and a love for history and an awareness of the legacies of colonialism and slavery have a profound impact on Caribbean identity and experiences.
Professor Beckles, started at The University of the West Indies (UWI) as a Professor of Economic and Social in 1991 and in 2015 was appointed as the 8th Vice-Chancellor of The University. He remains one of the most prominent historians of economic and social history, internationally considered a thought leader, global public activist and a strong advocate for social justice and minority empowerment.
ACADEMIC JOURNEY
1976: Ph.D. Economic and Social History, University of Hull, England
1991 – present: Professor of Economic and Social History (1991 - Present)
1992 - 1996: Chairman, Department of History
1994 - 1998: Dean, Faculty of Humanities
1994 – Present: Director/Founder, Centre for Cricket Research
1998 - 2002: University (inter-campus) Coordinator for Sports Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The University of the West Indies
1998 - 2002: Chairman, Board for Undergraduate Studies
2002 – April 2015: Principal and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Cave Hill Campus, University of the West Indies, Barbados
2015:Vice-Chancellor, The University of the West Indies
2002 - 2015: Vice-Chancellor & Principal of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados
BIBLIOMETRICS
Journey as a Reparations Hero
Prof. Beckles carries with him a global reputation for reparatory action, manifested in some of the following activities:
In 2013, Professor Beckles coordinated the Caribbean governments’ policy positions on the global reparatory justice conversation.
He chaired the newly established Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission (2013).
An associate member of the University College London, Legacies of Slavery Project and the University of Hull’s “Wilberforce Institute for Slavery and Emancipation, 2013.
A pioneering figure in the global movement for reparatory justice, Professor Beckles led the establishment “The Caribbean Centre for Reparation Research” at The UWI, 2017.
His work and advocacy for reparatory justice has started conversations and strategies within civil society and to address both the moral debt along with the economic aspects of reparation.
In a 2016 Harvard Law School Lecture, titled "Reparatory Justice for Global Black Enslavement: The Greatest Political Movement in the 21st Century", Beckles argued that the call for reparations would benefit all Caribbean citizens through development, not just people of African descent. Beckles’ work on reparatory justice is rooted in his extensive research on the economic and social impact of slavery, colonialism, and genocide inflicted upon the Caribbean region.
Addressed the UN Security Council November 2020 with a call for economic development through Reparatory Justice, in support of a CARICOM paradigm for
The UWI in 2024 was elected as the global hub for Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13): Climate Action as a result of Professor Beckles’ leadership in the establishment of the UWI’s International School for Development Justice.
In May 2025, Prof. Beckles was appointed as Chairman/Chancellor of the United Nations University, in Tokyo, Japan.
Select Honours and Awards
2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace and Freedom Award
2017 Amistad Award: Presented by Central Connecticut State University, 28th February.
2015 The Global Community Healer Award: Presented by the Community Healer Network, Washington DC, 17th September.
2011 Honorary D. Litt, University of Glasgow.
2009 Honorary D. Litt, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.
2007 Commander Knight of St. Andrew (KA), Highest Official National Award of Barbados
2004 Honorary D. Litt, University of Hull.
1994 Inaugural Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the field of Research (The UWI).
1993 Award, Barbados Association of Journalists, writer, narrator, and co-director, Best Documentary of the Year. Wrote and narrated a documentary on Barbados independence entitled "We Now Have a Country".
1986 Senior Commonwealth Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University.
1973 City of Birmingham (U.K.) Educational Award - Undergraduate Degree
United Nations Caribbean. (2024, April, 03). Sir Hilary Beckles Discusses Reparations for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Sir Hilary Beckles Discusses Reparations for the Transatlantic Slave Trade