EDITED BY KEN JONES Reviewed by Dr Alfred Sangster
Sunday, August 04, 2002

There have been many books on Marcus Garvey, the most extensive being the 7 volume series by the Jamaican, Robert Hill, now a professor at the University of California. The author who has worked in the diplomatic service and in the media, has drawn extensively from this series, from discussions with Marcus Garvey's sons, Julius and Marcus Jr, his widow Amy Jacques, and the writer of the forward, the late Professor John Henry Clarke of Hunter College, New York. It is unfortunate that his sources are not quoted. The book published by Ken Jones in 2002, is available at local bookstores and the production is sponsored by a number of institutions.

Garvey was a man way ahead of his time, but one whose influence on the aspirations and development of black people everywhere has been monumental. The author quotes many persons who attribute much of their own strength and determination, to the writings and initiatives of Marcus Garvey. In fact, the book is replete with the quotations of a wide international endorsements of the man and his message. Two quotations will suffice:

* Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Leader, USA: " Marcus Garvey was the first man of colour in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement. He was the first man, on a mass scale, to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and make the Negro feel that he was somebody."

* CLR James, Black Historian, Caribbean: "When Marcus Garvey finished, all recognised that black people were a social force. Garvey was the beginning... the first man to make black people aware of themselves as an international force... Before Marcus Garvey, there was no black movement. The black movements that we have today, all started with him."

Garvey's philosophy runs like a scarlet thread through the book. It is epitomized in the saying: "Up You Mighty Race! You can Accomplish What You Will"

But Garvey's philosophy was undergirded by a philosophical system which was characterized by a fine set of values:

* He was a good family man and his wife Amy Jacques, and sons, Marcus Jr and Julius testify to that

* He was proud of his race and brought that pride and self confidence to all that he said and did

* He was a fighter for black people but without the bitterness that has often marked much racial conflict

* He was a firm believer in the value of hard work and diligent effort

* He had a deep commitment to Christian values and cherished the Bible

These characteristics are evident in his 'sayings' recorded by the author. A few examples illustrate his stand:

* On Education. "Before we can properly help the people, we have to destroy the old education... that teaches them that somebody is keeping them back and that God has forgotten them and that they can't rise because of their colour.. we can only build... with faith in ourselves and with self-reliance, believing in our own possibilities, that we can rise to the highest in God's creation." (1923)

* On Freedom. "History teaches us no race, no people, no nation has ever been freed through cowardice, through cringing, through bowing and scraping, but all that has been achieved to the glory of mankind, to the glory and honour of races and nations was through the manly determination and effort of those who lead and those who are led." (1920)

* On Jamaica. "Thank God there is no racial friction in Jamaica, and I pray that the day may never dawn to see anything of racial friction or open racial prejudice in this country." (1915)

* On Leadership. "There is a great deal of work to do and it calls for sacrifice and determination on the part of those who are leading, and if men believe that money should be the only consideration for leadership, then there can be no successful achievement." (1920)

* On Government. "Before you have a government, you must have the people. Without the people there can be no government. The government must .. must be, therefore, an expression of the will of the people." (1923)

* On Religion. "God does not... give people positions or jobs or... good conditions such as they desire; they must do that for themselves.. God does not build cities nor towns nor nations, nor homes, nor factories; men and people do that and all those who want must work for themselves and pray to God to give them strength to do it." (1914)

Read a chapter from the Bible every day.. The greatest wisdom of the age is to be found in the Scriptures." (1929)

* On Self-Reliance. "Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of suffering people. Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future have been the only means by which the oppressed have seen and realised the light of their own freedom." (1920)

Garvey's struggles in a variety of endeavours were undermined at every turn. There was the white economic establishment who blocked his moves, his own black brothers who robbed and double-crossed him and the political system which was not yet ready to entertain the possibility of the sharing of power.

As author Ken Jones notes Garvey's role, which endured a long period of silence, is becoming more recognised through education, the influence of Bob Marley -"emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'- and many others.

"Garvey's work is by no means finished. The objectives which he dramatically articulated remain a challenge to those who follow in his footsteps. His ideas and his deeds may have shortened the journey and made the terrain less difficult to traverse; yet the Negro, as a race of people, has seen only an outline of the promised land."

It is of interest to note that Liberty Hall in downtown Kingston is being refurbished as a tribute to Garvey's memory and the first women's hall of residence at CAST (now UTech), was named after Amy Jacques Garvey in the early 1970s.

source: Jamaica Observer

Anmerkung: Source is the Jamaica ObserverBook Cover (Observer Link)