Marcus Garvey’s death certificate handed over to Jamaica

The death certificate of Jamaica’s noted standard bearer, the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, has landed in Jamaica. The significant document previously housed in London, England was donated to the Marcus Mosiah Garvey Multimedia and the Garvey Research/Reference Library on July 9 at the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/The Jamaica Memory Bank in Kingston.

Handing over the historic document to the Marcus Mosiah Garvey Multimedia Museum and Garvey Research Reference Library was Ancestral Genealogist Selena Carty and Family History Consultant, Latoya Williams. The information on the death certificate offers a detailed account of the life and death of the late Marcus Garvey as well as the health conditions Garvey faced.

Carty noted that the handing over of the death certificate to the museum marks a significant milestone on the life of Marcus Mosiah Garvey. “This brings closure, providing complete information from birth to death for Marcus Garvey to his family and his nation,” she explained, “this helps to understand the circumstances of his death fully offering also a comprehensive view of his life,” she added.

“The journey of the death certificate from London to Jamaica symbolizes the bringing of historical and cultural gaps,” Ms. Carty highlighted. She reminded the audience observing that Garvey’s influence extended beyond Jamaica. The collection also include Garvey’s business and docking records from his ship arrivals in England.

The ancestral genealogist further noted that the documents now housed in Jamaica will further connect the work of Marcus Garvey to the Jamaican people through his economic and educational plans.

Williams, for her part, said the death certificate allows the public to see Marcus Garvey as more than a heroic figure and instead see him as a human being who once lived beyond his heroic efforts. “It evokes various emotions, and provides closure, joy and insight,” she emphasized.

In a local reflection from Faith Anderson, director of Liberty Hall a local organization in Jamaica, she noted that “this marks another journey in connecting with scholars, genealogists and others who are interested in the work of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.”

In speaking to the Vice President of the Jamaica Progressive League in the Bronx, Jose Richards, a Garveyite, said that he is grateful that the documents are now housed in Jamaica and the Jamaican people can now have access to the information whenever needed. Richards emphasized the importance of the documents as information for historical reasons.

The documents will be housed at the Marcus Mosiah Garvey Multimedia Museum and the Garvey Research Reference Library at Liberty Hall on Upper Kings Street in Downtown Kingston.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey died in England on June 10, 1940.