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Bruce Golding's son a disappointed Garveyite
Steven Golding talks about his bitter expulsion from the UNIA
BY BASIL WALTERS Observer staff reporter waltersb@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, September 20, 2009
STEVEN Golding, the 34-year-old son of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, is a staunch but unhappy disciple of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
GOLDING... any legal UNIA Division that is coming about in Jamaica must come through my approval
Four years ago, he was expelled from the New York Division of Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), leaving a lingering cloud over the legitimacy of his status in the movement and a bitter taste in his mouth.
In his first newspaper interview here on the expulsion, Golding dismissed the 2005 action against him and several other young Garveyites as unconstitutional and illegal.
Golding said he and the others had been doing research on Marcus Garvey when they uncovered information showing that the New York Division of the UNIA was operating ultra vires the constitution. It was to be the beginning of sorrows.
"When we put this forward to them, there were members within that faction who not only wanted to surpress that information, but turned around, knowing that we were in possession of that information, just decided to expel not just myself but some other members from New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Baltimore," Golding recalled in the interview with the Sunday Observer.
"These were all young members of my age group, college-educated people who had an interest in researching Marcus Garvey," he added.
The ghost of that NY expulsion has trailed Golding to Jamaica where some members of the Kingston Division, which he has headed since 2008, have questioned his motives. Some have openly accused him of wanting to pursue a political agenda.
He hits back, saying that they were politically motivated because his father is prime minister of Jamaica and asserts for their benefit: "I am not only the president of the Kingston Division, I am the Ambassador and High Commissioner to Jamaica. Any legal UNIA Division that is coming about in Jamaica, must come through my approval."
Garvey founded his UNIA in 1914, hoping to unite people of African ancestry to uplift their race. It spawned many branches across the world, notably in Costa Rica. At one stage, the UNIA had up to four million members worldwide, making it the most powerful black organisation and drawing the suspicion of United States authorities.
Ten years ago, Golding became a member of the influential New York Division. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, the United World College of the American West and Jamaica's Campion College, he served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the NY Division.
Golding's account of the dispute is this: In 1926, while Garvey was in prison, the New York parent body of the UNIA staged a coup against him and became the UNIA Inc. When Garvey was deported in 1927, that is why he actually had to form a new UNIA and incorporated it here in 1929 calling it UNIA and ACL, August 1929. Upon Garvey's death in 1940, his successor for the New York Division was one James Robert Stewart, but there was a group who was not supportive of Stewart, the then president general. This led to a break away faction that set up another organisation.
"The group that was against Stewart formed themselves into what was called the Rehabilitation Committee... Descendants of that Committee sometime around 1970, ceased realising that they were a committee and began to elect people to the position of president general illegally and unconstitutionally," Golding charged.
After he joined the UNIA in 1999, his research uncovered documents, letters, from on court cases that showed that this committee had illegally began to refer to itself as the UNIA, August 29 and had been taken to court for it.
"When we put this forward to them, there were members within that faction who not only wanted to surpress that information, but turned around, knowing that we were in possession of that information, just decided to expel not just myself..." Golding related.
"When we put that to the powers that be - and we didn't come at them aggressively, as to say, you are illegal -we said listen, did you all know that this is the position. And how do we now go about bringing things together and sewing it up. They saw that as a threat to them for whatever reason. They sent an expulsion, and at first we did not battle the expulsion on the grounds of this information... When we decided to oppose the expulsion we did so on a constitutional ground. The UNIA constitution says the only reason somebody can be expelled from the UNIA, is if they are found to be traitors of the race. They expelled us on grounds of insubordination, disrespect and misrepresentation..."
Said Golding: "Given the New York position, given the rest of the divisions' position, we then took a decision that we were going to come out with the information regarding these expulsion and expose the illigitimacy of these people who were calling themselves the UNIA August 1929. We never chose that before, because your first choice in dealing with black organisation is to keep the unity. To exert every means to keep the thing together. You don't have no right to be in that chair and you are using that chair to expel me. So is a double illegality going on."
Junior Bangarang, as he styles himself, current host of Newstalk 93FM community radio programme The Corner, was in the group that was expelled. He said flyers about the expulsion were sent out and members even from other divisions including Baltimore and as far afield as Toronto, who questioned the action were also expelled.
"And when an entire division, because I was then a member of the New York Division, when my entire division opposed the expulsion, they tried to say that they were revoking the charter," said Bangarang.
"When Jamaica under Wolde Madhin opposed my expulsion, because this was two years after I had come back to Jamaica but my membership was still active with New York but I was now working with the Kingston Division, when he decided, they threatened to revoke his charter too. Unfortunately before that happened Abba Madhin passed away."
Golding added that the Kingston Division had taken a position that they would not honour that expulsion.
"...We have put in all the legal documents to reactivate the UNIA globally. I am not only the President of the Kingston Division, I am the Ambassador and the High Commission to Jamaica. Any legal UNIA division that is coming about in Jamaica, must come through my approval. As it is now legal... That's been since 2006, that's before I even became the president of the division.
"Those things were done in America, you understand. Because out of necessity, one, and two out of the fact that I was the only Jamaican representative there. There has never been a member of this division that has been able to travel abroad to convention and represent the division...That is my legal legitimacy.
"If I felt that anybody who is challenging me were of such detriment or threat, I could go to court and shut them down. But I don't derive my legitimacy from legal papers. I derive my legitimacy from the division. Because I could go to the court in America and get a million papers, (but) if the division tells me sey me must step down, I step down. It is the people, the legitimate division that Wolde Madhin was leading. This is my second term, we just have election last month. But people down here, who for whatever reason, and I believe a lot of those reasons are politically motivated because of who I am and who my father is, are resentful of all of that.
"I plant my steak with the UNIA ten years ago, and I tell you today on my earthstrong (birthday), mi nuh have one regret. I'm only disappointed in the actions and attitudes of some members of the race. But no less disappointed than Marcus Garvey was in fi him time. It is only unfortunate that we repeat history cause history nuh repeat itself, a we repeat it."
Steven Golding talks about his bitter expulsion from the UNIA
BY BASIL WALTERS Observer staff reporter waltersb@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, September 20, 2009
STEVEN Golding, the 34-year-old son of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, is a staunch but unhappy disciple of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
GOLDING... any legal UNIA Division that is coming about in Jamaica must come through my approval Four years ago, he was expelled from the New York Division of Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), leaving a lingering cloud over the legitimacy of his status in the movement and a bitter taste in his mouth.
In his first newspaper interview here on the expulsion, Golding dismissed the 2005 action against him and several other young Garveyites as unconstitutional and illegal.
Golding said he and the others had been doing research on Marcus Garvey when they uncovered information showing that the New York Division of the UNIA was operating ultra vires the constitution. It was to be the beginning of sorrows.
"When we put this forward to them, there were members within that faction who not only wanted to surpress that information, but turned around, knowing that we were in possession of that information, just decided to expel not just myself but some other members from New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Baltimore," Golding recalled in the interview with the Sunday Observer.
"These were all young members of my age group, college-educated people who had an interest in researching Marcus Garvey," he added.
The ghost of that NY expulsion has trailed Golding to Jamaica where some members of the Kingston Division, which he has headed since 2008, have questioned his motives. Some have openly accused him of wanting to pursue a political agenda.
He hits back, saying that they were politically motivated because his father is prime minister of Jamaica and asserts for their benefit: "I am not only the president of the Kingston Division, I am the Ambassador and High Commissioner to Jamaica. Any legal UNIA Division that is coming about in Jamaica, must come through my approval."
Garvey founded his UNIA in 1914, hoping to unite people of African ancestry to uplift their race. It spawned many branches across the world, notably in Costa Rica. At one stage, the UNIA had up to four million members worldwide, making it the most powerful black organisation and drawing the suspicion of United States authorities.
Ten years ago, Golding became a member of the influential New York Division. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, the United World College of the American West and Jamaica's Campion College, he served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the NY Division.
Golding's account of the dispute is this: In 1926, while Garvey was in prison, the New York parent body of the UNIA staged a coup against him and became the UNIA Inc. When Garvey was deported in 1927, that is why he actually had to form a new UNIA and incorporated it here in 1929 calling it UNIA and ACL, August 1929. Upon Garvey's death in 1940, his successor for the New York Division was one James Robert Stewart, but there was a group who was not supportive of Stewart, the then president general. This led to a break away faction that set up another organisation.
"The group that was against Stewart formed themselves into what was called the Rehabilitation Committee... Descendants of that Committee sometime around 1970, ceased realising that they were a committee and began to elect people to the position of president general illegally and unconstitutionally," Golding charged.
After he joined the UNIA in 1999, his research uncovered documents, letters, from on court cases that showed that this committee had illegally began to refer to itself as the UNIA, August 29 and had been taken to court for it.
"When we put this forward to them, there were members within that faction who not only wanted to surpress that information, but turned around, knowing that we were in possession of that information, just decided to expel not just myself..." Golding related.
"When we put that to the powers that be - and we didn't come at them aggressively, as to say, you are illegal -we said listen, did you all know that this is the position. And how do we now go about bringing things together and sewing it up. They saw that as a threat to them for whatever reason. They sent an expulsion, and at first we did not battle the expulsion on the grounds of this information... When we decided to oppose the expulsion we did so on a constitutional ground. The UNIA constitution says the only reason somebody can be expelled from the UNIA, is if they are found to be traitors of the race. They expelled us on grounds of insubordination, disrespect and misrepresentation..."
Said Golding: "Given the New York position, given the rest of the divisions' position, we then took a decision that we were going to come out with the information regarding these expulsion and expose the illigitimacy of these people who were calling themselves the UNIA August 1929. We never chose that before, because your first choice in dealing with black organisation is to keep the unity. To exert every means to keep the thing together. You don't have no right to be in that chair and you are using that chair to expel me. So is a double illegality going on."
Junior Bangarang, as he styles himself, current host of Newstalk 93FM community radio programme The Corner, was in the group that was expelled. He said flyers about the expulsion were sent out and members even from other divisions including Baltimore and as far afield as Toronto, who questioned the action were also expelled.
"And when an entire division, because I was then a member of the New York Division, when my entire division opposed the expulsion, they tried to say that they were revoking the charter," said Bangarang.
"When Jamaica under Wolde Madhin opposed my expulsion, because this was two years after I had come back to Jamaica but my membership was still active with New York but I was now working with the Kingston Division, when he decided, they threatened to revoke his charter too. Unfortunately before that happened Abba Madhin passed away."
Golding added that the Kingston Division had taken a position that they would not honour that expulsion.
"...We have put in all the legal documents to reactivate the UNIA globally. I am not only the President of the Kingston Division, I am the Ambassador and the High Commission to Jamaica. Any legal UNIA division that is coming about in Jamaica, must come through my approval. As it is now legal... That's been since 2006, that's before I even became the president of the division.
"Those things were done in America, you understand. Because out of necessity, one, and two out of the fact that I was the only Jamaican representative there. There has never been a member of this division that has been able to travel abroad to convention and represent the division...That is my legal legitimacy.
"If I felt that anybody who is challenging me were of such detriment or threat, I could go to court and shut them down. But I don't derive my legitimacy from legal papers. I derive my legitimacy from the division. Because I could go to the court in America and get a million papers, (but) if the division tells me sey me must step down, I step down. It is the people, the legitimate division that Wolde Madhin was leading. This is my second term, we just have election last month. But people down here, who for whatever reason, and I believe a lot of those reasons are politically motivated because of who I am and who my father is, are resentful of all of that.
"I plant my steak with the UNIA ten years ago, and I tell you today on my earthstrong (birthday), mi nuh have one regret. I'm only disappointed in the actions and attitudes of some members of the race. But no less disappointed than Marcus Garvey was in fi him time. It is only unfortunate that we repeat history cause history nuh repeat itself, a we repeat it."
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