What a hero this Hickling

THE EDITOR, Madam:

FREDDIE, MY friend and psychic freedom fighter was an inspiration to many generations. We met in Birmingham and he embraced me as a Jamaican. From the UK diaspora we committed to Caribbean academia. Fearless in his advocacy against the colonial ethos, he became an icon at the epicentre of the epistemic rupture. He was a towering sage on the liberation stage.

I deeply admired his attachment to Marley’s metaphor about mental liberation and recognised him as a mentor. The intellectual community of nation and region is greatly diminished by his departure, but his professional and personal legacy will represent an enduring dividend-yielding asset through the ages.

One does not say farewell to a brother like Freddie. One merely offers a smile while thinking, what a hero this Hickling!

PROFESSOR SIR HILARY

BECKLES

Vice-Chancellor

The University of the West

Indies