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HONORABLE CHARLES B. RANGEL
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007
IN HONOR OF THE 120TH BIRTHDAY AND LIFE OF MARCUS MOSIAH GARVEY
Mr. RANGEL: Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the life and contributions of the late Marcus Mosiah Garvey and to acknowledge the 120th anniversary of the day of his birth, August 17, 1887, a day which will be celebrated later this month in the United States, the Caribbean, and throughout the diaspora. One hundred and twenty years ago, on August 17, the revolutionary, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Saint Ann Bay, Jamaica. His father was a mason and his mother was a farmer. Although his dad used his hands to make a living, he loved literature and created a large library. The library became the initial information source that cultivated young Marcus's love of reading and hunger for knowledge.
At approximately the age of 14, he left Saint Ann's Bay and became an apprentice. He held the positions of Master Printer and Foreman at P.A. Benjamin Printery. In a short time, he was elected to serve as vice president of the Kingston Union, participated in a printers strike, was fired from his job, created The Watchman newspaper and found a new job at the Government Printing Office. All of this advocacy on behalf of the rights of workers prepared him for becoming an outspoken leader against oppression and an advocate for freedom and self determination.
From 1910 to 1913, he traveled throughout Central America and London. During this time, he attended Birkbeck College and held jobs as a timekeeper and newspaper editor. While in London, he spoke at Hyde's Park Speaker's Corner, where his public speaking skills, developed in Jamaica, were honed before ever larger audiences.
He returned to Jamaica in 1914 and founded the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League. The mission of the organization was to "unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own."
He came to the United States and established himself in Harlem, New York, to share the mission of the organization in 1916. Initially he spoke out on the street corners of New York and later went on a nationwide speaking tour. The late Adam Clayton Powell declared that Garvey "awakened a race consciousness that made Harlem felt around the world."
Through speaking and the newspaper he created, the Negro World, membership in the organization grew to an amazing two million plus. To further support the ideas of the organization's mission, he incorporated a shipping line, Black Star Lines to transport goods and people of African descent back to Africa. An investigation of the organization and Black Star Lines led to a wrongful indictment and arrest of Mr. Garvey. This investigation marked the beginning of an effort to destroy him and the organization. In 1919, he was shot by a man who committed suicide immediately after the shooting. In that same year, he and others were unjustly investigated by the FBI and charged with mail fraud in connection with Black Star Lines. Only Mr. Garvey was found guilty and received a sentence of five years. He adamantly proclaimed his innocence and many believed then and now that he was set up for political reasons. He served time in Atlanta and his sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. Upon his release, he was deported to Jamaica.
He continued to serve as a revolutionary and political activist by establishing Jamaica's first political party, the People's Political Party, serving as the Councillor for the Allman Town Division of the Capitol City, Kingston. In 1935, he moved to London and worked on issues that involved Ethiopia and set up a school to train leaders for the organization he founded. In 1940, he passed away from a stroke after reading a false obituary of himself published in the Chicago Defender.
Mr. Garvey was a bold visionary. His idea and commitment to move people of African descent back to Africa and establish a government of self-determination are still inspiring today. Since he was investigated and convicted, his vision and efforts to mobilize people of African descent to return to Africa did not materialize. President Coolidge's action could be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing by the U.S. government. However, his name has not been formally cleared.
On August 17, 2007, people will celebrate the birth and life of Mr. Garvey. I applaud and encourage people all over the world to celebrate the life of such a great man. I also urge my colleagues to support my bill, H. Con. Res. 24, which calls for expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should grant a pardon to Marcus Mosiah Garvey to clear his name and affirm his innocence of crimes for which he was unjustly prosecuted and convicted.