Garvey's great legacy should not be devalued

Ken Jones, Contributor

While no individual or institution can claim exclusive custody of the legacy of our national hero, Marcus Garvey there should be some who experience disappointment when the great man's name is used in support of a cause without much worth or merit.

I honour and respect authentic Garveyism, and I am not amused by actions and utterances attributed to political upstarts inviting votes in the name of Garvey's historic Peoples Political Party (PPP). I support everyone's right to seek a seat in the House of Representatives, but I have reservations about freedom to misrepresent or in any way debase the lofty ideals and high principles of Marcus Garvey.

Very little, if anything has been heard about the so-called Marcus Garvey PPP since it was launched in 2002. At that time, it pledged to help candidates "... plan and implement winning tactics ...," using "whatever it takes for as long as it takes to insure our people win." This seems to coincide with its recently announced plan to win by unseating an opponent by technical means should she be endorsed by the electorate. Apart from the fact that the plan is based upon a misreading of the Constitution, this tactic was never Mr Garvey's idea of the way to get elected.

Spitefully unseated

Ironically, Garvey was himself spitefully unseated on a technicality after he had launched the manifesto of the PPP. He was charged and convicted of contempt of court because of telling an election crowd that there should be a law "... to punish corrupt judges, who, in defiance of British justice, enter into agreements with lawyers and other persons of influence to deprive subjects of the realm of their rights ..."

Marcus Garvey was sentenced to three months in prison and also fined the large sum of one hundred pounds. While incarcerated he was elected to the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation Council, but other members refused to grant him leave of absence; and because of being unable to attend three meetings while in jail his seat was declared vacant. In the by-election he ran unopposed and regained the seat.

Revolutionary manifesto

Garvey's PPP, founded over 80 years ago, was outstanding for its revolutionary manifesto. Most of the aims and objectives, thought then to be impossible of accomplishment, have since been adopted and would no longer excite the electorate. The party was not a fringe group led by virtual unknowns. It was one component of a mass movement led by one of the 20th century's great thinkers; and one of the reasons for its formation was to show power through organisation.

At the PPP's first public meeting, Garvey emphasised: "We must not allow any small faction of men or individual man to project himself forward, or to be sent by a small group in the country or in the parishes as candidates of the people ..." Those seeking to follow in his footsteps should heed that advice. Memorials of the man and his movement should always reflect his thinking and not be belittled by whimsy, caprice or fast fading fantasies.

Ken Jones is a veteran journalist. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com