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On August 17, 2004 Liberty Hall celebrated the 117th
Birthday of the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey with an Open Day.
Over a hundred persons from various sectors of the society
particularly Rastafarians and members of the Universal Negro
Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL)
turned up to celebrate.
The Open Day featured three major activities including a film show
in the Museum, the unveiling of a Garvey Mural and the main event
---a variety show. For the variety show, Liberty Hall’s Garvey
Great Hall was transformed into a stage with items from poets,
singers, drummers and dancers. The performers, all of whom performed
for free included King Nykomo, Local Blues, Ras Rod, Oba Simba,
Jah Children, I-Mara, Payne, The Junior Centre Dancers and Drummers,
Jackie Roots, Black Unity, Kemto Scarlett. Neto Meeks and Kashka
Hemans. The show lasted for over four hours.
The Garvey Mural, which was officially unveiled in
commemoration of Garvey’s Birthday, was the production of Liberty
Hall’s “Summer Art Project” featuring twenty children
from Liberty Hall’s community outreach project and six students from
the Edna Manley School for the Visual and Performing Arts. The
Mural consists of paintings of African Masks, The Black Star Line,
Pan-Africanists such as Kwame Nkrumah, Martin Luther King Jnr. and
Steven Biko, Rastafarian symbols, Queen Tiye (pronounced ‘tea’) of
Egypt and Garvey’s second wife, Amy Jacques Garvey.
Three films were shown in the Museum. These were: Sankofa, a
critically acclaimed independent film about slavery, co-starring
Mutabaruka; Look for me in the Whirlwind, a documentary on
Marcus Garvey’s life and work; and Kirikou an animated
African film geared towards children.
Throughout the day, visitors toured the Garvey Research/Reference
Library and Multimedia Centre, and Garvey Multimedia Museum. In the
Garden, vendors sold craft items, which included Afro-centric
accessories and various items depicting the red, black and green of
the UNIA and the red, green and gold colours of the
Rastafarian/Ethiopian flag.
Additional Source:
“Liberty Hall Celebrates Garvey’s Birthday” The News,
August 22-September 4, 2004.
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