Smiling woman in front of book shelves.
Natasha Lightfoot, Ph.D., is the author of “Troubling Freedom: Antigua and the Aftermath of British Emancipation.” (Contributed photo)

Nov. 1, 2023

Columbia University history professor to speak at VCU about slavery, reparations and the Caribbean

Natasha Lightfoot’s address on Nov. 6 is sponsored by the Department of History and the Alexandrian Society.

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By VCU News staff

A Columbia University history professor who studies the African diaspora will visit Virginia Commonwealth University next month to discuss slavery and reparations across the Caribbean as well as issues in Black life.

Natasha J. Lightfoot, Ph.D., will speak about “The Unfinished Afterlives of Slavery, Freedom and Reparations in the Caribbean” on Monday, Nov. 6, at 4 p.m. in the University Student Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Ave. Her address, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by VCU’s  Department of History and the Alexandrian Society.

Lightfoot is a former executive board member of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora, and her published works include the “Troubling Freedom: Antigua and the Aftermath of British Emancipation” (Duke University Press, 2015). She also has served as a member of the Association of Caribbean Historians, the Conference on Latin American History, the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians. Lightfoot’s awards and fellowships include honors from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Ford Foundation.

Dating to the 1960s, the Alexandrian Society is among VCU’s oldest student academic organizations, and it emphasizes the importance of Atlantic history, with scholarship that falls under the umbrella of equity, inclusion and diversity. It has hosted numerous lectures and symposiums, and membership is open to all students regardless of background or specialization.