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 |10
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