Celebration and reflection on Marcus Garvey’s legacy

Marcus Garvey was fifty-two years old when he died on June 10, 1940, and on August 17, 2023, we marked what would have been his one hundred and thirty sixth (136th) birthday. It is amazing when so much time has passed, authority has ceased and most importantly, hope has extinguished little by little. What would Marcus Garvey the teacher, philosopher and political activist be more concerned with the social media world today?

I was in Jamaica last Thursday, the day of Marcus Garvey’s birthday. I was traveling around and observing, looking for activities to mark the occasion, I noticed a few small celebrations. But I really had a grim time moving as fast as I would like to, because there were roads that were the most difficult for cars to travel on. I wondered what Marcus Garvey would have said when today’s working-class Jamaicans had to encounter such challenges as they aspire towards one of his teachings, “self-reliance.” The Jamaican people are just moving to make things happen for them. No one else will do it and so they are following one of Garvey’s teachings.

On Marcus Garvey’s birthday, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Hon. Marsha Smith, was the main speaker at a civic ceremony organized by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation and Civic Affairs. The event was at Lawrence Park in St. Ann’s Bay, in St. Ann, the birthplace and parish of the Late Garvey. The event was held under the theme “Garvey’s Teachings Still a Pillar of Nation-Building.”

The theme was a perfect discussion for Jamaica and other Black communities in the United States. The legacy of Marcus Garvey should be a beacon of hope for Black people across the globe and for Jamaicans to emulate and develop. Garvey began to carry the Jamaican torch over one hundred years ago. The Jamaican people need to see demonstration of that force and order in full display, and to grasp opportunities for development of the country. Jamaica is badly in need of good roadways. Although the highways are good, the inner roads need rebuilding and repairing. I am one of those people, among many others or all the people who must use the roads in towns and villages.

During her speech to the gathering of community residents, the Minister of State called on the Jamaican people to use Marcus Garvey’s teachings as stepping stones for self-improvements, re-examining goals, and forging paths forward as one people. In continuing her comments, Ms. Smith said that in endorsing Marcus Garvey’s philosophy, “the Jamaicans are embracing the responsibility and opportunity to contribute to the country’s ongoing development, just as he envisioned.” In today’s Jamaica, Marcus Garvey would have needed better roadways to move around to teach and disseminate his messages of hope.

The Minister of State in Education and Youth also said that the day should not only be one of remembrance but should also be an opportunity for self-evaluation and accounting, for one to emulate. In addition, Ms. Smith noted how the late Marcus Garvey encouraged the people to take advantage of opportunity whenever there is one and “where there is no opportunity, we make it for ourselves,” she added.

Other leaders including the Mayor of St. Ann’s Bay, Sydney Stewart, who spoke about the impact of Garvey and the influential leader that Marcus Garvey was and noted the significance and contributions of the teaching of Marcus Garvey even today.

In Harlem, New York City on August 17, 2023, supporters of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, an organization started by Marcus Garvey paraded through the community showing gratitude and remembering the legacy and elaborate work that the Late Hon. Marcus Garvey started in that community.

This was also evident in the community of Brownsville, Brooklyn as housing projects named in honor of Marcus Garvey celebrated the legacy of Garvey by gathering to observe his life on his birth date.