[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN HONOR OF THE 120TH BIRTHDAY AND LIFE OF MARCUS MOSIAH GARVEY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the life and 
contributions of the late Marcus Mosiah Garvey and to acknowledge the 
120th anniversary of the day of his birth, August 17, 1887, a day which 
will be celebrated later this month in the United States, the 
Caribbean, and throughout the diaspora.
  One hundred and twenty years ago, on August 17, the revolutionary, 
Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Saint Ann Bay, Jamaica. His father was 
a mason and his mother was a farmer. Although his dad used his hands to 
make a living, he loved literature and created a large library. The 
library became the initial information source that cultivated young 
Marcus's love of reading and hunger for knowledge.
  At approximately the age of 14, he left Saint Ann's Bay and became an 
apprentice. He held the positions of Master Printer and Foreman at P.A. 
Benjamin Printery. In a short time, he was elected to serve as vice 
president of the Kingston Union, participated in a printers strike, was 
fired from his job, created The Watchman newspaper and found a new job 
at the Government Printing Office. All of this advocacy on behalf of 
the rights of workers prepared him for becoming an outspoken leader 
against oppression and an advocate for freedom and self determination.
  From 1910 to 1913, he traveled throughout Central America and London. 
During this time, he attended Birkbeck College and held jobs as a 
timekeeper and newspaper editor. While in London, he spoke at Hyde's 
Park Speaker's Corner, where his public speaking skills, developed in 
Jamaica, were honed before ever larger audiences.
  He returned to Jamaica in 1914 and founded the Universal Negro 
Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities 
League. The mission of the organization was to ``unite all people of 
African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country 
and absolute government of their own.''
  He came to the United States and established himself in Harlem, New 
York, to share the mission of the organization in 1916. Initially he 
spoke out on the street corners of New York and later went on a 
nationwide speaking tour. The late Adam Clayton Powell declared that 
Garvey ``awakened a race consciousness that made Harlem felt around the 
world.'' Through speaking and the newspaper he created, the Negro 
World, membership in the organization grew to an amazing two million 
plus. To further support the ideas of the organization's mission, he 
incorporated a shipping line, Black Star Lines to transport goods and 
people of African descent back to Africa. An investigation of the 
organization and Black Star Lines led to a wrongful indictment and 
arrest of Mr. Garvey. This investigation marked the beginning of an 
effort to destroy him and the organization.
  In 1919, he was shot by a man who committed suicide immediately after 
the shooting. In that same year, he and others were unjustly 
investigated by the FBI and charged with mail fraud in connection with 
Black Star Lines. Only Mr. Garvey was found guilty and received a 
sentence of five years. He adamantly proclaimed his innocence and many 
believed then and now that he was set up for political reasons. He 
served time in Atlanta and his sentence was commuted by President 
Calvin Coolidge in 1927. Upon his release, he was deported to Jamaica.
  He continued to serve as a revolutionary and political activist by 
establishing Jamaica's first political party, the People's Political 
Party, serving as the Councillor for the Allman Town Division of the 
Capitol City, Kingston. In 1935, he moved to London and worked on 
issues that involved Ethiopia and set up a school to train leaders for 
the organization he founded. In 1940, he passed away from a stroke 
after reading a false obituary of himself published in the Chicago 
Defender.
  Mr. Garvey was a bold visionary. His idea and commitment to move 
people of African descent back to Africa and establish a government of 
self-determination are still inspiring today. Since he was investigated 
and convicted, his vision and efforts to mobilize people of African 
descent to return to Africa did not materialize. President Coolidge's 
action could be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing by the U.S. 
government. However, his name has not been formally cleared.
  On August 17, 2007, people will celebrate the birth and life of Mr. 
Garvey. I applaud and encourage people all over the world to celebrate 
the life of such a great man. I also urge my colleagues to support my 
bill, H. Con. Res. 24, which calls for expressing the sense of the 
Congress that the President should grant a pardon to Marcus Mosiah 
Garvey to clear his name and affirm his innocence of crimes for which 
he was unjustly prosecuted and convicted.




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