The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission (ABRSC) has unveiled a full slate of 2026 Emancipation Observances, a curated multi-day series that honors the struggles, resilience, and legacy of formerly enslaved ancestors while lifting up the ongoing global fight for reparatory justice. At the top of the program’s most anticipated events is the annual Watchnight Gathering, scheduled for July 31, 2026 at Antigua’s iconic Botanical Gardens, with globally recognized reparations leader Professor Sir Hilary Beckles confirmed as the featured keynote speaker.
This year’s commemorations kick off on July 24 with Africa Dress Day, a celebration of ancestral cultural ties that sets the tone for the week of reflection. The schedule builds on July 29 with the UHURU Television Program focused on the theme of Spiritual Awakening, before welcoming attendees to the core Watchnight Gathering on July 31. Titled “A Night of Reflection, Remembrance and Renewal,” the event will draw community members together for collective reflection, public education, and a reaffirmation of shared commitment to reparatory justice. The observances culminate on August 1, Emancipation Day, with a 6:00 a.m. Emancipation Breakfast Service at Greenbay Moravian Church, followed by the all-day Emancipation Village hosted at the V.C. Bird Bust from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Professor Beckles brings unmatched expertise and authority to the 2026 gathering. He currently serves as Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies and Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the regional umbrella body of which ABRSC is a member. Over decades of academic and advocacy work, his groundbreaking scholarship has fundamentally reshaped global understandings of Caribbean colonial and enslavement history, cementing his reputation as one of the region’s most influential voices on decolonization, regional integration, sustainable development, education, and reparatory justice.
As the face of the CARICOM reparations movement, Beckles has emerged as the Caribbean’s leading international advocate for redress for the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery. He has represented regional interests before global bodies including the United Nations and African Union, as well as the UK Parliament, U.S. Congress, and hundreds of academic, religious, and civil society organizations across the world. His persistent advocacy has succeeded in moving reparations from a marginalized demand to a central item on the global policy agenda, framed as a core issue of human rights, historical accountability, and long-term equitable development.
Beckles’ extensive research agenda covers a wide range of understudied topics tied to colonial harm, including the economic structure of plantation slavery, acts of resistance by enslaved people, gender dynamics in slave societies, Indigenous genocide, the intergenerational developmental impacts of colonial rule, and the legal and moral case for reparatory justice. He has published more than 20 academic and popular books, including landmark works such as 2013’s *Britain’s Black Debt: Reparations for Caribbean Slavery and Native Genocide*, 2016’s *The First Black Slave Society*, 2021’s *How Britain Underdeveloped the Caribbean*, and 2025’s *Cricket’s First Revolutionary: Frank Worrell’s Political War Against Colonialism in the West Indies*.
Widely celebrated as a dynamic and compelling public speaker, Beckles will use his keynote address to update attendees on the most recent progress in the global reparatory justice movement. His talk will cover three key recent developments: the newly released 2026 CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment, the United Nations’ landmark Declaration that classifies the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel slavery as the gravest crime against humanity in modern history, and key takeaways and next steps from the recent NEXT STEPS High-Level Consultative Conference focused on implementing the United Nations General Assembly resolution on reparations.
ABRSC has issued an open invitation to all members of the public in Antigua and Barbuda and the wider Caribbean region to attend the Watchnight Gathering. The event offers a rare opportunity for collective reflection on the enduring legacy of emancipation, public recognition of the sacrifices of the generations that fought for freedom, and a collective reaffirmation of the region’s commitment to securing justice, dignity, and full reparatory redress for the harms of chattel slavery and colonialism.