Robert Beckford is a distinguished British theologian, broadcaster, and social justice advocate whose work bridges faith, culture, and activism.

An award-winning filmmaker, his critically acclaimed documentaries – including After the Flood: The Church, Slavery and Reconciliation – have ignited national conversations, spurred policy dialogues, and earned international recognition.

Beckford’s career spans over two decades of investigative television and radio documentaries, award-winning plays, and theological scholarship. He is Professor of Religion and Climate Justice at VU University, Amsterdam, and Professor of Black Theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham. These roles position him as one of the most compelling voices interrogating the legacies of empire, faith, and resistance in modern Britain.

He continues his work in his 2023 monograph, Decolonising Contemporary Gospel Music through Praxis: Handsworth Revolutions, a groundbreaking study on how decolonial theology can shape Black British contemporary gospel music.