What A Hero This Hickling!

The following statement is issued by the Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles in tribute to the late Frederick W. Hickling, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, The UWI.

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 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!