Chevy R. J. Eugene

Brief Biography
Recognized as one of the Global Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in politics and governance, Dr. Chevy Eugene is a cross-pointed Assistant Professor in the Black and African Diaspora Studies (BAFD) Program and the Department of Political Science. Dr. Eugene’s research takes up the historical struggles for reparations by conceptualizing it as a liberation praxis for conquest, enslavement, colonialism, and neocolonialism in new worldmaking in the Caribbean context. It proposes a decolonial reparations framework that seeks to delink demands for reparations from neoliberal epistemologies and mechanisms that perpetuate the continuation of neocolonial governmentalities in the Caribbean. Additionally, his research explores the role of the arts and social movements in the politicization and mobilization of young people in the Caribbean and its diasporas on the issue of reparatory justice. Dr. Eugene’s current project argues for a decolonial and holistic undertaking of reparations in Canada by connecting the contemporary manifestations of anti-Black systemic racism to transatlantic slavery. Furthermore, he has undertaken various consultancy projects, most notably with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), to assist States and other key partners to deliver reparations for people of African descent through a human rights and intersectional approach.

Dr. Eugene’s professional involvement extends beyond academia. He serves as the Caribbean ambassador for the Pan-African Council (PAC). This role allows him to lead a collective of entrepreneurs, business leaders, cultural ambassadors, government actors, academics, and activists from the Anglophone, Francophone, Spanish, and Dutch Caribbean to foster political, economic, and social cooperation with Africa.

Publications:
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article(s)

2024    Eugene, C. R. J., jules, tavis d., & Indrarajah, T. (2024). An African Union-Caribbean Community alliance in the global reparations movement: Promises, perils, and pitfalls. The Round Table, 103(1), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2024.2307789

2022    Eugene, C. (2022). The Politics of Reparations in Rastafari Livity and Reggae. Iyaric, 1(1), 41–48.

2019    Eugene, C.R.J. (2019). Towards a Framework for Caribbean Reparations. Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, 44(3), 54-77.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapter

Eugene, C., Williams, Y., & Gray, A. (2022). Groundings and Rastafari: Re-territorializing Caribbean Indigenous knowledge. In Affirming Methodologies: Research and Education in the Caribbean (pp. 157–172). Routledge

Work in Progress                 

Books

DaSouza, D., & Eugene, C. (Eds.). “Public Policy Formulation in Post-colonial Africa and the Caribbean,” Palgrave Macmillan (2025).

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article(s)

Eugene, C. “The Tragedy of Caribbean Studies in Canada.” Journal of Canadian Studies (2024)

Eugene, C. “Decolonizing the Legal Framework of the Caribbean Reparations Campaign: An Intervention through Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).” (2025)

Eugene, C. “Natty Dread:” Rastafari ‘Livity’ as Praxis Towards a New Humanity.” (2025)

Invited Talks:
(Selected)

2024    Eugene, C. “Towards a Decolonial Framework for the Second International Decade for People of African Descent.” Third Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Palais Des Nations of the United Nations, Geneva, April 16-19, 2024.

2023    Eugene, C. “The Crisis of Caribbean Studies in Canada.” Centre of Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, April 3.

2019    Eugene, C. “Building Transnational Relationships in the Americas” The Pan-African Council Brazil Office Launch, Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, December 4.

2019    Eugene, C. “What Can we Learn from the Caribbean Reparations Movement” Mid-Decade Summit for the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), Howard University School of Law, Washington D.C. November 13.

2016    Eugene, C. “The Black Canadian Experience: The Radical Creative Imagination.” Canadian and Caribbean representative at the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024): Ten years to take action, UNESCO Headquarters Room IV, Paris, France, September 19.

2016    Eugene, C. “Connecting to the Global Diaspora.” Guest Speaker at Germany’s Launch of the International Decade for People of African Descent, Berlin, Germany, June 3.

Conferences:
(Selected)

2024    Eugene, C. “Black Futures in Black Canadian Studies,” Black Futurities, McMaster University, Hamilton, May 31, 2024

2024    Eugene, C. “Haiti and Resistance to the Imperialist Project as a Reparative Justice Undertaking.” Third Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Palais Des Nations of the United Nations, Geneva, April 16-19, 2024.

2023    Eugene, C. “Reparations, Debt, and Wealth: Reimagining the Possibilities of Economic Liberation for People of African Descent.” Second Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, UN Head Quarters, New York, May 30, 2023 – June 2, 2023.

2020    Eugene, C., Williams, Y., & Gray, A. “Groundings and reasoning: re-territorialising Caribbean Indigenous knowledge” Caribbean Research Methodologies Online Seminar 2020, October 16.

2019    Eugene, C. “The Roles of the Youth and Arts in the Caribbean Reparations Movement” Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA), University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine, August 22.

2018    Eugene, C. “A Fanonian Humanist Approach in Understanding Caribbean Reparations.” Strategies of Critique XXXII, York University, Keele Campus, Toronto, October 11 – 13.

Professional Affiliations

• Research Associate, Centre for Research for Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), York University
• Research Associate, Harriet Tubman Institute, York University
• Research Fellow Member, Jack and Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, York University
• Research Associate, Centre for Reparations Research (CRR), University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus
• Member (Fellow), UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Member, Caribbean Solidarity Network (CSN)
• Member, Caribbean Studies Association (CSA)
• Member, National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates (NAAASA)
• Member, Association for the Study of Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD)