Marcus Garvey Research Paper

How can Marcus Garvey be given more prominence in Jamaican context other than at National Heroes Day?

Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940)

Marcus Garvey was born on 17th August 1887 in the small rural town of St. Ann’s Bay. He was from a large, poor family of which he was the last of eleven children. His father worked as a stone mason and his mother baked and sold cakes. His parents were devout Christians and encouraged their children along the path of the Christian religion. They also encouraged them to read. He was christened Malcus Mosiah Garvey but later assumed the name Marcus Mosiah Garvey. He spent his early years under the influence of two self educated men. The first one was his father, Malcus Mosiah Garvey, and his Godfather
This company was to be owned by black people, in the same way that a white steamship company was owned and managed by white persons. The Black Star Line was also supposed to be backed by several black owned businesses that would use the steamships to transport their cargo. The company was financed by US $5.00 shares, sold only to black persons. This amounted to US $750.000. No one was permitted to purchase more than 200 shares. Unfortunately, neither Garvey nor his associates knew much about the shipping business and persons who they trusted were not trustworthy. Proper records were not always kept and official procedures were often ignored. The first three vessles bought were very old and ended up as being liabilities to the company and sank the company into debt amounting to US$476,000. By 1922 the Black Star Line Shipping Company was bankrupt. Garvey got into further trouble when the warning from the United States attorney general’s office was ignored. The warning stated that it was illegal to sell shares by post for a company that had not properly been incorporated. In January 1922 Garvey and three other of his officials were indicted on charges of commercial fraud. Garvey was indited on 12 counts, fined US$1,000, held without bail for three months and after an unsuccessful appeal, was sentence to a term of five years in an Atlanta jail. The other
A ship, which was in a much better physical shape than the others of the Black Star Liner, was purchased. Garvey’s supporters were enthusiastic to discover that the movement was not dead. This dream was not to be, because after a few voyages the shipping company declared bankruptcy.

Marcus Garvey’s prison term was decreased to two and a half years as a result of an appeal that was made on his behalf. He was released in December, 1927 and later deported to Jamaica. On his return to Jamaica he was given a hero’s welcome. During his time in Jamaica, he got involved in politics and formed the People’s Political Party. He won a seat on kingston’s Parish Council which he was prevented by higher authorities to take up. This was because they thought he would bring trouble to the Council.
Although the politician saw Garvey’s input as trouble, some persons in the poor areas of Kingston saw Garvey as a form of black Moses. The Rastafarian Movement was born in the late 1920s and grew. Marcus Garvey began to express their dislike of the ruling authorities and it was the first expression of Black Power. Many people were opposed to the movement but over the years the Rastafarian religion has taken root all over the