Hilary Beckles

Professor Hilary Beckles "was the feature speaker at the opening of the Kwame Ture Memorial lecture series on June 10th, 2000, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. His topic was African Resilience in the Pre and Post Emancipation Periods and Lessons for the 21st Century. The Barbadian born Beckles attained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economic History from Hull University in England and returned to his native land as one of the first professionally trained historians. Dr. Beckles is not only the Director of the Centre for Cricket Research at Cave Hill and Coordinator of the Annual Vice Chancellor XI Cricket Match, but is also the Professor of Economic and Social History and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies at Mona, and was the Coordinator of the recent CARICOM/ UWI Cricket Conference.

"Professor Beckles is a member of the Editorial Board of several history journals including the Journal of American History and the Journal of Caribbean History. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of the West Indies Press and a Director of CLICO Holdings, Barbados. He is a Consultant, principal writer and Committee member to UNESCO's Slave Route Project. As a Committee member to this Project, Professor Beckles has presented several papers on the Slave Route in Africa, the Caribbean and Europe.

"He has authored some 10 books and edited another eight. Among them are A History of Barbados: From Amerindian Settlement to Nation State, Afro-Caribbean Women and Resistance to Slavery in Barbados, Liberation Cricket, West Indies Cricket Culture co-edited with Brian Storddart; The Development of West Indies Cricket in two volumes. Two of his books deal specifically with women in slave society - They are Natural Rebels: A Social History of Black Women in Slavery and Centering Women: Gender Discourse in Caribbean Slavery."


 * International Advisory Council, Youth Advocate Program International