The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission (ABRSC) has announced that Professor Sir Hilary Beckles will serve as the feature speaker at its annual Watchnight Gathering on Friday, July 31, 2026, at the Botanical Gardens. According to Antigua News Room, the event forms a central part of the Commission's 2026 Emancipation Observances.
The Watchnight Gathering is one of several events designed to honour the resilience, sacrifices and triumphs of ancestors while celebrating the enduring spirit of freedom. The 2026 observances begin with Africa Dress Day on July 24, followed by the UHURU Television Programme – Spiritual Awakening on July 29. The Watchnight Gathering – A Night of Reflection, Remembrance and Renewal follows on July 31, with the programme culminating on August 1 with Emancipation Day. That day's activities include the Emancipation Breakfast Service at the Greenbay Moravian Church beginning at 6:00 a.m., and the Emancipation Village at the V.C. Bird Bust from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This year's Watchnight Gathering promises to be a highlight of the Emancipation programme, bringing together members of the public for an evening of reflection, remembrance, education and renewed commitment to reparatory justice.
Professor Sir Hilary serves as Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies and Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, of which the ABRSC is a member. His scholarship has reshaped the global understanding of Caribbean history, and he is widely regarded as one of the region's most influential voices on education, reparatory justice, regional integration, decolonization and sustainable development.
As Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, Sir Hilary has emerged as the Caribbean's foremost international advocate for reparatory justice. He has represented the region before the United Nations, the African Union, the UK Parliament, the United States Congress, and numerous universities, churches and civil society organisations worldwide. His advocacy has helped place reparations firmly on the international policy agenda as a matter of human rights, historical accountability and sustainable development.
His extensive body of research examines the economics of plantation slavery, resistance and emancipation, gender in slave societies, Indigenous genocide, reparatory justice, and the lasting developmental consequences of colonialism. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Britain's Black Debt: Reparations for Caribbean Slavery and Native Genocide (2013), The First Black Slave Society (2016), How Britain Underdeveloped the Caribbean (2021), and Cricket's First Revolutionary: Frank Worrell's Political War Against Colonialism in the West Indies (2025).
At the Watchnight Gathering, Sir Hilary is expected to provide an update on recent milestones in the global reparatory justice movement. His address will cover the recently published 2026 CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment, the United Nations Declaration on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity, and the outcomes and next steps from the NEXT STEPS High-Level Consultative Conference on the Implementation of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution.
The ABRSC is inviting members of the public to attend the observance as the nation reflects on the legacy of emancipation, honours the struggles and sacrifices of those who came before, and reaffirms a collective commitment to justice, dignity and the continued pursuit of reparatory justice.
