An Interlude with Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey, after whom the park near my house is named, was a controversial figure to say the least. Born in Jamaica in 1887, he was a passionate black nationalist who advocated the return of the African diaspora to the continent and the formation of a single, unified African nation. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914, which saw great success in the United States, and numerous other organisations to encourage migration back to Africa and independent economic activities by black people. Prosecuted and arrested for mail fraud in 1922, he eventually relocated to London, where he died in West Kensington in 1940. Eventually, he was declared Jamaica's first national hero in 1964.

I wonder what Garvey would think of the modern world if he returned to life and saw it today. He certainly would have been shocked and angered by the continued presence of racism throughout the world. Yet he might be proud of his influences on movements such as Rastafari and Black Power, and on visionaries such as Martin Luther King, or revolutionaries such as Ho Chi Minh, who have shaped the history of the world and the culture of nations. Although much criticised in his lifetime, and sinking into relative obscurity before his death, Garvey was one of the first people to step forward and emphasise the need for unity and dignity on the part of the world's black population. As such, he deserves to be remembered more today.

I write about Garvey because of one of his quotes: 'liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men'. What do the minds of men need liberation from in this modern day and age? Could it be hatred against other people, ignorance of wider issues, selfishness in economic and political matters, or others beside? The reality of it is uncertain; we cannot know whether some cultural trend or pattern is truly harmful and is dragging us down until it has passed. But, like Garvey, I hope to be active in my day-to-day life and to do something to help the wider world. 

Perhaps, if sufficient time passes, we may see people freed from their prejudices about race, disease and cultures, and able to pursue humanity's development in unison.

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