London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

UK woman pays US$500K in reparations to UWI

UK woman pays US$500K in reparations to UWI

While the United Kingdom (UK) Government has refused to directly address the question of reparations for slavery, one UK citizen has taken it upon herself to pay $500,000 in reparations to the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Bridget Freeman, 70, an accomplished musician, bequeathed her properties worth half a million US dollars to a scholarship programme at UWI and noted that her grand piano is being kept in tune for the Cave Hill Campus as a contribution to the University’s new Faculty of Culture, Creative and Performing Arts.

Vice-Chancellor of UWI and Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, Professor Sir Hilary M. Beckles said the University welcomes Bridget Freeman’s endowment describing it as “an honourable demonstration of personal reparation and moral leadership on behalf of her family'.


‘I was horrified’ about evils of slavery- Bridget Freeman


Vice-Chancellor of UWI and Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, Professor Sir Hilary M. Beckles said the University welcomes Freeman’s endowment describing it as “an honourable demonstration of personal reparation and moral leadership on behalf of her family”.

He added that her commitment to turning her awareness into action is deeply appreciated and will go a long way to providing freedom and fulfilment through the gift of education for many Caribbean students.

Freeman has also accepted UWI’s invitation to get involved as a co-patron of Global Giving 2021. “It is about reparation” she said. “We owe it. Once you see the ships of the slave trade, the giving back just seems so obvious”.

According to Loop News on August 20, 2021, it was a series about the Atlantic slave trade on the BBC that shocked Freeman, whose uncle was married into a family that owned plantation and slaves in the Caribbean.

Up until then, she knew almost nothing about the plight of free Africans who boarded ships and were taken throughout the world and sold into slavery.

“I was horrified and it touched me and I thought dear God, this is not right” she said.

Further research led her to UWI and UWI Global Giving— the regional university’s annual crowdfunding campaign which was established in 2016.

Some people held banners calling for reparations during marches on Afrikan Emancipation Day in London in August 2020.


Reparation


Reparation is a word most frequently used in relation to money - given as an apology or acknowledgement that something was wrong or unfair.

When slavery was legally abolished in Britian in 1838, slave owners were given money by the British government to compensate them for the loss of their slaves, which in those days were considered "property". These payments were known as reparations.

The some £20 million paid by the UK treasury to some 3,000 families that had owned slaves was finally paid back in 2015, by UK taxpayers.

But the former slaves didn't get any money for all the work they had done under slave labour, their lack of freedom, or the horrible conditions they'd suffered.

More than 12 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic to work as slaves. This statue commemorating the abolition of slavery stands in front of the House of Slaves museum in Dakar, Senegal, before being relocated to the


UK refusing to pay reparations to VI


In 2013 and 2014 several Caribbean countries called on the UK and other European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Norway, and Sweden, to pay reparations to their governments.

At the time the UK foreign secretary, William J. Hague said he "did not see reparations as the answer".

On Monday, September 7, 2020, a day after the 3rd anniversary of the destructive Hurricane Irma, the then Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert sparked community outrage when he said the United Kingdom's (UK) position on paying reparations to the Virgin Islands for acts of slavery and the slave trade was not something that was being considered, hinting that the VI should expect nothing.

He also called for relics of slavery still present in the territory to be preserved despite community calls for those relics to be renamed so that it can reflect the legacy of Virgin Islanders who shaped the territory.

Despite calls for an apology, Mr Jaspert refused to apologise but instead saddled the Virgin Islands with a controversial Commission of Inquiry called during the coronavirus pandemic mere days before he exited the territory.

Meanwhile, Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1)in November 2020, said he too backs the rest of the region in its attempt at seeking reparations from Britain.

Premier Fahie bemoaned the fact that slave masters were compensated by the United Kingdom yet the descendants of slaves have yet to be paid.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×