Photo Taken by Makeela Alexander at San Fernando

Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Jamaica, on the 17^th of August, 1887 and was a strong advocate for black power. He was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which was very successful in New York. Garvey’s aspiration was for African- Americans to go back to their homeland, Africa.

Alfred Graham designed the statue and monument of Garvey, located on the San Fernando promenade. Information on the statue states that he visited Trinidad in the year 1937 and spoke at the Gaiety Cinema, which was located on Mucurapo Street, San Fernando.  Along with this description on the statue were the words, “Dedicated to all Afrikans, By the Afrikan Advancement Association (A.A.A.).”

Marcus Garvey had an influence on reggae music, especially that of Bob Marley. The lyrics of “Redemption song”, by Marley, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery” were taken directly from a speech given by Garvey in Nova Scotia in October of 1937.^[1] Marley was not the only reggae artist influenced by Garvey and his work. There were other artists and musicians such as Peter Tosh, The Mighty Diamonds, and Garnett Silk. Not only was Garvey an Influence to music, he impacted on Rastafarianism. He was seen as a very inspirational figure and it was stated that Garvey’s believers in Jamaica were the originators of the Rastafarian movement^[2].

Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association designed the Pan-African flag, which consists of the colours red, black and green, where according to the UNIA, red represents blood, black represents the race and green represents the lush vegetation of their Motherland, Africa. Marcus Garvey was a very wise and intelligent individual, and led one of the biggest black revolutions, giving a voice to blacks and empowering and inspiring those who believed in his work. Marcus Garvey passed away on June 10th, 1940 and was recognized as Jamaica's first national hero.

When the Marcus Garvey monument is viewed by the public, they are reminded of the notion of Black Awareness and the entire idea of being familiar with one’s culture, heritage and history^[3]; which has shaped us into the people we are today. It also reminds us of powerful words such as freedom, justice and equality; which are also influential factors of our lives. Garvey was fiercely proud of being black and although some of his goals were controversial, he helped us to understand concepts such as Black Nationalism which help evoke feelings of pride in us as “black” people. He particularly focused on African people because of his realization at the time, that they always occupied the lowest strata of society^[4]. However, his works have influenced the region of Trinidad as a whole; in terms of his ideologies bringing various communities together and making areas that was once segregated, united. The island, being a very multi-racial and culturally diverse, can relate to the message of Marcus Garvey as he encourages us to have self-pride i.e. pride in our race by embracing of “blackness”.

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[1]"Geoffrey Philp: Marcus Garvey's Influence." Marcus Garvey's Influence|Geoffrey Philp. June 8, 2011. Accessed March 29, 2016. http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/2011/06/marcus-garveys-influence.html.

[2] Parmett, Meredith. "THE DREAD LIBRARY." Marcus Garvey Is a Man That Lived a Life with a Goal Many Thought Was Impossible, but His Ideals Were Many Peoples Dream. Accessed March 29, 2016. https://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/parmett.html.

[3]History.com Staff. "Marcus Garvey." History.com. 2009. Accessed March 29, 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/marcus-garvey.

[4]"Marcus Garvey: Fast Facts." History.com. Accessed March 29, 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/marcus-garvey/videos/marcus-garvey-fast-facts.