In Memoriam – Professor Christopher A.D. Charles
The Caribbean Studies Association mourns the recent passing of our long-standing CSA member, Professor Christopher A.D. Charles.
As a CSA member for almost 30 years, Professor Charles shared his scholarship, insight, and unwavering commitment to critical engagement with the issues shaping our Caribbean and diasporic realities. As a friend, colleague, and mentor to many across the Association, his generosity—both personal and professional—touched countless lives. Professor Charles was a Mentor on the CSA Young Scholars Mentoring Programme 2021-22. His absence leaves a profound void within CSA.
Professor Charles was a full Professor of Political and Social Psychology at the University of the West Indies,Mona Campus. His distinguished international academic career included appointments at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, Monroe College New York, The King Graduate School, and the University of Missouri, Columbia.
During his career in the Department of Government at UWI, Mona, Professor Charles distinguished scholarship including his writings on black identity, culture, football, politics and political psychology. His work significantly enriched national, regional, and global understandings of Caribbean and Black identities. His recent book, The Psychology of Skin Bleaching: Motivations, Behavior, and Consequences (Routledge, April 2025), employs a social-psychological lens to examine cultural norms, values, shared meanings, and practices surrounding skin colour, and how these shape people’s behaviours within their cultural contexts.
Professor Charles was also a Distinguished Scholar with The PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Advocacy at UWI, Mona, and was the driving force behind the establishment of The Africa Caribbean Students Club – 2023–2024 and he also served as the Faculty Advisor, offering guidance and support whenever needed.
Professor Charles’ sudden passing in late October, 2025, which occurred during the period of Hurricane Melissa’s impact on Jamaica, has left his friends, colleagues, and the wider intellectual community grieving his loss.
He is remembered as a composed, forthright, and highly effective academic whose social and political commentary—shared through Jamaica’s print and electronic media—earned him widespread respect for his thoughtful and informed analyses of national and regional issues.
The Caribbean Studies Association extends heartfelt condolences to Professor Charles’ son, Yaron, his siblings, and his extended family, as well as his Kingston College peers, his friends, and his colleagues.
