Res. No. 434
Title
Resolution declaring August 17th, 2002 as Marcus Mosiah Garvey Day in the City of New York, to recognize the vision, organizational genius and leadership of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders.
Body
By Council Members Barron, Baez, Clarke, Comrie, Foster, Jackson, Koppell, Lopez, Perkins, Quinn, Sanders, Serrano and Vann
Whereas, Throughout the brief yet turbulent history of this nation, perhaps no
group has suffered harder or been exposed to indignities and reversals
longer than people of African descent; and
Whereas, The history of this particular group is defined by a centuries long
struggle for the democratic principles of freedom, justice and equality; and
Whereas, Born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica, in 1887, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was
a world renowned human rights activist, political leader and economic strategist whose
ideas enriched and helped improve the lives of people of African descent; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey challenged the inherited racial and social biases that
history imposed upon his people; his ideas radicalized them into action,
precipitating a movement of cultural and political awareness in which people of
African descent willfully and emphatically began to take control of their own
lives; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey possessed a brilliant and robust capacity to
understand and to challenge historical circumstance: with conviction, a fierce
intellect and a prodigious gift of oratory, Mr. Garvey managed to articulate,
transform and expand the social limitations of his people; and
Whereas, In 1914 Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement
Association, an organization whose aim was to improve the lives of black people
everywhere by educating them about their history and strengths; through the UNIA Mr.
Garvey reached and influenced millions of individuals, galvanizing and uplifting spirits,
giving voice to and providing the wisdom and insight needed to challenge the many
human rights injustices that had long victimized people of African descent; and
Whereas, Mr. Garvey also founded the Black Star Line, a steamship enterprise
that fostered black trade and served as a symbol of African-American grandeur
and self-enterprise; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey gave voice and urgency to questions of national
identity; he possessed an acute and profoundly sympathetic understanding of the
needs of his people; he took a fragmentary and nascent idea of nationalism and
gave it form and coherence; his ideas helped clarify and bring a mature sense of
order to the unruly welter of history, a history within which his people struggled
hard for self-determination, equality and human rights; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey is still looked upon as a compelling voice in the
discourse of African-American history; his was an intensely reasoned and humane
approach to the problem of cultural displacement; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey believed in the human spirit of endeavor, and saw
education as the key to overcoming any and every obstacle in life; as his own life so
amply illustrates, education was the single most important factor contributing to his
success and leadership; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey used his highly nuanced intelligence to
probe history for answers that might illuminate the past and inform the future for
generations of people of African descent; his ideas were profound, bold and imaginative
and helped place the black community squarely in touch with its cultural
inheritance; and
Whereas, Marcus Garvey expanded the circle of possibilities for people of
African descent the world over; his ideas helped millions shake off the lingering
effects of slavery and live more fulfilling lives infused with racial pride and self-
empowerment; now therefore be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares August 17th, 2002
as Marcus Mosiah Garvey Day, and so recognizes the vision, organizational genius and
leadership of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders
WA
LS#864
D-Res. #
8/6/02
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