Dr. Julius Garvey Honored and Legislation Introduced in City Council to Pardon Marcus Garvey

By Donna Lamb

n the day before Marcus Garvey’s 119^th birthday, the City Council honored his son, Dr. Julius Garvey, with a proclamation. A little later that day, a resolution to pardon Marcus Garvey for what has long been considered a trumped up charge of mail fraud was introduced in the City Council meeting.

After ushering Dr. Garvey, Consul General of Jamaica Basil K. Bryan, and other friends of the honoree forward, Council Member and Congressional candidate Charles Barron said that the council wanted to present this proclamation to Dr. Garvey because his father was a great, long-time Black Nationalist and activist who taught people of African descent how to "do for self."

Garvey, who was born in Jamaica in 1887, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) with its many enterprises aimed at uplifting and empowering his people. In the 1920s when it was unheard of for a Black person to own a steamship company, he started the Black Star steamship line to conduct commerce between nations. This led to his being charged with mail fraud connected to his sale of the company’s stock. After his imprisonment, Garvey was deported.

"Garvey taught us to be proud to be African," stated Barron. "He said Africa should be liberated so that we here can be liberated. He was the hero of people like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, and he influenced most of the great Black liberation movements in this country. His son is a Pan Africanist as well, and we are honored to take this time to honor him."

As was clear through the proclamation, Dr. Julius Garvey was fully deserving of a proclamation in his own right. He was a founding member and is the current Chairman of the Marcus Garvey Committee International, Inc., an organization that improves the economic, cultural, educational and spiritual condition of Africans all over the world.

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Dr. Garvey has also served on the Boards for the Education of People of African Ancestry, The Zumbi Foundation and the Brotherhood. He has worked in conjunction with various Ministries and the University of the West Indies on educating Jamaican youth, building schools, transferring books and medical supplies and on a medical student exchange program.

Dr. Garvey frequently lectures on African history and culture and on the legacy of Marcus Garvey at educational institutions, social communities, and religious, political, and national organizations throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Dr. Garvey has worked tirelessly to see that resolutions are passed in City Councils across the nation and in Congress calling upon the President of the United States to grant a posthumous pardon to Marcus Garvey.

Dr. Julius Garvey continues to combine a busy surgical practice with community service.

In accepting his proclamation, Dr. Garvey did so on behalf of his family and his parents, who set him on what he considers the right course in life: trying to help those who may not be able to help themselves. "I think this was the thrust of my father life in that he was born at a time when there was the European conquest of all of Africa, and African people were looking for a way out from under the oppression of Europe," Dr. Garvey explained. "My father was intelligent, courageous, and felt that African people needed to unite around our culture, become self-reliant, and seek nationhood. I am indeed proud," he concluded, "to be part of this heritage and to be carrying on the struggle."

Consul General Basil Bryan observed that it was a great day for Jamaica and for the memory of Jamaica's first national hero who was the inspiration for millions of people all over the world. "On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, I say thanks to you for keeping alive the memory of Marcus Mosiah Garvey," he declared. "There is still much left to be done, but we want to ensure that the heroes of the world are given their proper place."

As promised, during the City Council meeting that followed, Council Member Barron’s resolution was introduced. It urges Congress to pass Congressman Charles Rangel’s resolution calling upon the President to grant a posthumous pardon to Garvey.

Speaking in favor of the legislation, Council Member Yvette Clarke noted that this pardon is long overdue. "Marcus Garvey is an icon in the liberation of people of African descent around the world, but his movement was started right here in the United States," she said. "It is important that we bring truth and justice, and this is the time to do that."

Council Member Kendall Stewart thoroughly agreed with Clarke. "It's about time that we correct the mistakes committed in the past," he stated. "Marcus Garvey is an idol that we look up to, and we should remove this stain from his name."