Annual Marcus Mosiah Garvey Lecture to Be Held at Liberty Hall on August 17

The 17th Annual Marcus Mosiah Garvey Lecture and Harambee – Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey, will be hosted on Monday, August 17, under the theme ‘Educating for liberation: Reclaiming Garvey’s vision in the twenty-first century’.

The annual lecture is a scholarly forum, hosted by Liberty Hall, to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of renowned Pan Africanist and Jamaica’s first National Hero, The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Research Officer at Liberty Hall, Stafford Brown, told JIS News that the annual lecture, established in 2010, serves as a national platform for examining the relevance of Garvey’s philosophy to contemporary social, cultural, and political and economic issues.

“[It’s] to highlight his philosophy from contemporary to modern times, and how his ideas shape [our] ideas and how [we] interpret and find the solutions… to problems that we still face now, as African diaspora, and as people…which are also in his advocacy,” he said.

This year’s theme was created from the core message of a now iconic speech delivered in October 1937 by Garvey in Nova Scotia, Canada.

“Marcus Garvey famously stated, ‘We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free our mind’. And some might be [saying] that sounds like a Bob Marley quote. Bob Marley himself was also inspired by the revolutionary practices of Marcus Garvey,” Mr. Brown shared.

He noted that the theme, Education for Liberation, highlights Garvey’s philosophical view that education is more than a career pathway.

“[It] is an essential tool for human liberation, for self-reliance and for racial pride. This lecture comes at a pivotal point in Jamaica, [with] national conversations on education, identity and youth development… it reminds us that education must prepare individuals to make a living but also to lead with purpose, to think critically, to contribute meaningfully to the development of the nation and the development of black pride itself,” Mr. Brown explained.

“This topic… stresses education for self-reliance. Garvey also believed that true freedom could never be granted, it had to be built [and] that colonial education systems stripped black people [of] their identity and heritage. So, to combat this, he thought that education must centre African history, because you have to understand where you’re coming from to have that cultural pride,” he added.

The guest lecturer will be Professor Donna P. Hope, a tenured professor at The University of the West Indies who, according to Mr. Brown, “has dedicated her life to teaching, research and mentoring young minds”.

“She brings a fresh viewer perspective to Garvey’s legacy by showing how true education extends far beyond textbook learning. As an educator who studied Dancehall, Reggae and Caribbean identity, she directly bridges the gap between high-level academic scholarship and the lived experience of today’s Jamaican youth,” he said.

The Harambee section that follows the lecture will bring together different people in celebration, while promoting entrepreneurship and supporting local vendors through food, music and culture.

“Harambee is a Kiswahili word meaning ‘let us pull together’ or ‘unity in purpose’. In African culture, Harambee is a traditional community gathering where people come together from across all walks of life just to celebrate and support each other,” Mr. Brown explained.

The lecture is free to the public and begins at 1:00 p.m. Persons may attend in person at Liberty Hall, 76 King Street in downtown Kingston, where free and secured parking will be available.

Persons who are unable to attend may view the lecture live on Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey’s YouTube channel.

Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey is a project of the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica (ACIJ), known as the Jamaica Memory Bank (JMB), a division of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), which is an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport.