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  “THE LEGACY OF MARCUS GARVEY”

  SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

  THE MOST HON. P.J. PATTERSON ON, PC, QC, MP

  FOR THE RE-OPENING OF LIBERTY HALL

  OCTOBER 20, 2003

 

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  • Salutations
  • The re-opening of Liberty Hall has been long awaited and overdue.
  • It serves as a cultural and political cradle of Garveyism; a symbol of Black aspirations and Black excellence.
  • Fitting that it should be on National Heroes Day – Garvey was our first.
  • Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, “placed Africa and people of African descent in the consciousness of the modern world, and in such a manner that they can never be removed again.”
  • His life span was no more than 53 years.
  • He has exerted such a profound influence on the world that he is now listed as one of the 50 major political thinkers over the last 24 centuries.

         

 

      Historical Significance of Liberty Hall 

  • Noted Garvey scholar Professor Robert Hill reminds us that what makes a building historic is the light that it throws on significant aspects of the lives of people in the past.
  • He reminds us that it is historic, “not just as an antique, nor a shrine, but as a document, as a piece of vital evidence about the past society that created it.”
  • It is testimony to the historic significance of Liberty Hall that successive Government’s have played their part in the re-acquisition and restoration of this national monument.
  • There is a common thread connecting Garvey, Liberty Hall, the Jamaican people and people of African origin all over the world: It is the indomitable spirit of freedom, industry, perseverance and justice that keeps burning through the years.

     Garvey and Globalisation 

  • Having pioneered the concept (of globalisation) Garvey proceeded to establish some 1,200 branches of the UNIA in over 400 countries throughout the Caribbean, USA, Canada, Central and South America.
  • With severe technological constraints he utilised the power of one mass medium – newspaper – to spread his message, publishing “The Negro World” in three languages.
  • He understood the centrality of economic independence and the power that came with successful entrepreneurship.
  • The legacy of Marcus Garvey is to be found as much in the purely philosophical realm as in the pragmatism of economic self-reliance that he advocated and pursued.
  • Garvey was Jamaican by birth, black by race, but global in outlook.
  • Garvey’s work and philosophy went way beyond the territorial confines of language, traditions and colonial influence in the region.
  • So that we are not submerged by the tidal waves of globalisation, his message of Pan-Africanism is reflected by the creation of the African Union, the regional integration of the Caribbean and the unity we are managing to forge between the nations of the developing world in our quest for social justice and economic liberation.

     

 

Education and Training: the Legacy of Marcus Garvey

  • It was fitting that just prior to National Heroes Day the Government and the Opposition were able to reach a landmark agreement in Parliament on an education system that not only provides access and quality, but enables us to know who we are and equips us to emancipate ourselves from poverty and mental slavery.

      The New Liberty Hall 

  • For the restored Liberty Hall to adequately reflect the legacy of Garvey, it has to be more than a historical showpiece.

  • It must seek to fulfil Garvey’s dream of our own control over the destiny of our own people in the fields of education, business and the arts.

  • It must of necessity help the average Jamaican in mastering modern communications technology not only as a potent educational tool but also as vital prerequisite for economic empowerment. 

  • To this end I endorse intention to:

ü      Reinterpret the use of the New Liberty Hall based on high tech communication techniques

ü      Use multi-media – audio-visual, computer, photographic, video and live theatre – to actualize the life and work of Marcus Garvey

ü      Establish a multi-media Centre that will train community members in PC application, multimedia skills, community and ICT integration, techno-Garvey concepts and website maintenance 

       

        Conclusion 

  • This has been a labour of love.
  • Commend the dedication of all those who have made it a reality.
  • We all have a responsibility to ensure that the activities which take place here and the respect which we show when we come here, make this edifice a fitting memorial to the life and work of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
  • I recognise in a special way our intellectuals who continue to make the philosophy of Marcus Garvey an integral part of their scholarship. Professors Rupert Lewis, Robert Hill and Tony Martin among others deserve our fullest commendation.
  • As is customary in scholarship, there have been different viewpoints on aspects of Garvey’s life and work. What no one dares to deny is his vision, fixity of purpose, and monumental achievements in a world that was hostile and anxious to see him fail.
  • Garvey achievements for his race in the face of relentless persecution and determined opposition, challenge us after 41 years of Independence, to take the final steps to complete our sovereignty, to unite ball our people in a shared vision and to be the instruments which advance social justice, human dignity and economic progress for every Jamaican citizen.
  • Let us keep Marcus Garvey’s example firmly before us as we renew our commitment to understand and face the challenges of globalisation and seize the opportunities to make Jamaica the greatest little country on earth.