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...while his childhood home sits in disrepair...brown man to the rescue...
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
ST ANN'S BAY, St Ann:
PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding, before departing for Washington on Wednesday, broke ground for the development of the birthplace of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey, at 32 Market Street in St Ann's Bay, into a memorial park that would feature a structure recreated to reflect the house Garvey lived in as a child.
Based on the recommendations of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), the memorial park will include a memorial wall, story boards and park furniture, as well as the restoration of the existing house.
Golding's son, Stephen, president of the local arm of the United Negro Improvement Association, was with his father and assisted him by shovelling away earth dug up by Golding's pickaxe.
In making the announcement at the site, Golding said the land on which a family now resides was compulsorily acquired after approval was granted by the commissioner of lands.
In a class of his own
Golding praised the work of Jamaica's first proclaimed national hero.
"Marcus Garvey is in a place and a class by himself because there is no other hero that we have whose work, whose life, whose legacy, has had such a profound impact far beyond our shores, and whose work, whose philosophy continues to endure," said the prime minister.
He added: "When Marcus Garvey, in the 1920s and 1930s, ignited the consciousness of black people, he was not just talking to the people in Jamaica, he wasn't just talking to the people who would meet so regularly at Liberty Hall, he was talking to the world, and the world had started to listen."
Golding said Garvey's downfall came because "when the powers of the world at that time saw that the world was listening to this little black man from Jamaica, then he had to be quieted, he had to be put down, he had to be pushed back, he had to be suppressed".
Golding added: "There are so many parts of the world you go today and the philosophy of Marcus Garvey is not just alive, but it is informing the way people live and the way people relate to each other. We in Jamaica perhaps have not done as much as we need to do to propagate, to evangelise the philosophy of Marcus Garvey."
The prime minister said there were institutional challenges regarding having (philosophies of) Marcus Garvey on the curriculum locally, but said more needs to be done to ensure that what is being taught in school about Garvey takes a more prominent part of the lesson delivery.
Occupants to be relocated
Member of Parliament for North East St Ann and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Shahine Robinson, gave the assurance that persons now occupying the premises will be relocated satisfactorily.
The CHASE Fund will finance the acquisition and restoration of the site in accordance with plans by the JNHT, with the project being listed as one of the Jamaica 50 legacy projects. No figure was mentioned for the project cost.
Golding said he was embarrassed every time he heard somebody mention "how Marcus Garvey ol' house, it nuh stay right", but challenges related to issues of entitlement and ownership slowed the process of acquisition.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, said the Marcus Garvey Park would be unveiled and officially opened a year from now.
rural@gleanerjm.com
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...ews/news1.html
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
ST ANN'S BAY, St Ann:
PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding, before departing for Washington on Wednesday, broke ground for the development of the birthplace of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey, at 32 Market Street in St Ann's Bay, into a memorial park that would feature a structure recreated to reflect the house Garvey lived in as a child.
Based on the recommendations of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), the memorial park will include a memorial wall, story boards and park furniture, as well as the restoration of the existing house.
Golding's son, Stephen, president of the local arm of the United Negro Improvement Association, was with his father and assisted him by shovelling away earth dug up by Golding's pickaxe.
In making the announcement at the site, Golding said the land on which a family now resides was compulsorily acquired after approval was granted by the commissioner of lands.
In a class of his own
Golding praised the work of Jamaica's first proclaimed national hero.
"Marcus Garvey is in a place and a class by himself because there is no other hero that we have whose work, whose life, whose legacy, has had such a profound impact far beyond our shores, and whose work, whose philosophy continues to endure," said the prime minister.
He added: "When Marcus Garvey, in the 1920s and 1930s, ignited the consciousness of black people, he was not just talking to the people in Jamaica, he wasn't just talking to the people who would meet so regularly at Liberty Hall, he was talking to the world, and the world had started to listen."
Golding said Garvey's downfall came because "when the powers of the world at that time saw that the world was listening to this little black man from Jamaica, then he had to be quieted, he had to be put down, he had to be pushed back, he had to be suppressed".
Golding added: "There are so many parts of the world you go today and the philosophy of Marcus Garvey is not just alive, but it is informing the way people live and the way people relate to each other. We in Jamaica perhaps have not done as much as we need to do to propagate, to evangelise the philosophy of Marcus Garvey."
The prime minister said there were institutional challenges regarding having (philosophies of) Marcus Garvey on the curriculum locally, but said more needs to be done to ensure that what is being taught in school about Garvey takes a more prominent part of the lesson delivery.
Occupants to be relocated
Member of Parliament for North East St Ann and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Shahine Robinson, gave the assurance that persons now occupying the premises will be relocated satisfactorily.
The CHASE Fund will finance the acquisition and restoration of the site in accordance with plans by the JNHT, with the project being listed as one of the Jamaica 50 legacy projects. No figure was mentioned for the project cost.
Golding said he was embarrassed every time he heard somebody mention "how Marcus Garvey ol' house, it nuh stay right", but challenges related to issues of entitlement and ownership slowed the process of acquisition.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, said the Marcus Garvey Park would be unveiled and officially opened a year from now.
rural@gleanerjm.com
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...ews/news1.html