Greatest tribute to Garvey is to continue his works Sydney Bartley

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MARCUS Garvey was yesterday remembered as a liberator and nation builder at a floral tribute to mark the 124th anniversary of his birth at National Heroes Park in Kingston.

Sydney Bartley, the director of culture in the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Culture, and who represented Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange at the function, said the greatest tribute that the country can pay to Garvey is to continue the work for which he gave his life 'for the betterment of the disadvantaged of the society'.

 

Said Bartley: "Marcus Mosiah Garvey's life reminds us of our own commitment to this country and to the upliftment of our people. As a people it is always very important for us to recognise and pay homage to those among us who have done us proud and who have given their lives for the betterment of ourselves.

"Marcus Mosiah Garvey was a standard bearer, a standard bearer for the upliftment of a people. A standard bearer for the restoration of national dignity, of human and collective security and of the ancestral pedigree of our people. And as such, we can only pay great tribute to Marcus Mosiah Garvey once we commit ourselves to that work and the continuation of his projects for national development for the people of Jamaica and indeed as we say in our National Motto -- For the welfare of the entire human race," Bartley said.

One of the tributes entitled 'The Liberator', read by broadcaster Dahlia Harris, said: "The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey had a mission to correct the state of powerlessness that shackled the spirits of blacks in Jamaica, and by extension the world. To foster this realisation he knew very well that there had to be an emancipation of their minds."

Another tribute, entitled 'The Nation Builder', which was read by Dervan Malcolm, read: "We are a great nation and indeed a great people. None but ourselves hold the key to our destiny and none but ourselves can determine our path to prosperity. The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey taught us these foundation principles that were and are still necessary for our nationhood. He was a man of all seasons, and he crossed many rivers, including imprisonment to foster the self-help and self-reliance of Jamaicans who were in darkness."

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen led the floral tributes, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ken Baugh represented Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Member of Parliament for North West St Catherine Robert Pickersgill represented Leader of the Opposition Portia Simpson Miller. Floral tributes were also made by Noel Martinez Ochoa, dean of the Diplomatic Corps and President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association Steven Golding.