News Release - August 18, 2006
Consul General Ricardo Allicock described Jamaica’s National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey as a trailblazer and visionary as he had “diasporic intent” when he reached out to migrant workers throughout his travels, also galvanizing Jamaicans wherever he went.
The Consul General was speaking at the 119th Birthday Anniversary celebrations yesterday (Aug. 17) held at the Florida Atlantic University Auditorium in Davie, Fort Lauderdale, to commemorate the life, work and legacy of Marcus Garvey.
Referring to the efforts of the Jamaican Government to mobilize and unite Jamaicans through the National Diaspora Movement, Mr. Allicock noted that Marcus Garvey, in his time had tried to influence, inspire and educate persons throughout the United Kingdom and United States, spearheading what turned out to be the largest movement of black people anywhere.
Since then, according to Mr. Allicock, ‘we have not seen anyone with that vision.’ He reminded his audience that Marcus Garvey “stood for us all” in his message of black pride and advocating for the poor. Alluding to the fact that African Americans and Caribbean people shared a common bond and similarities in history, he called for unity and loyalty as he urged the Diaspora to move forward in positively impacting the communities in which we reside.
He further expressed his support of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s recent announcement that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Anthony Hylton would spearhead a movement to dialogue with the United States Congressional Black Caucus to support the exoneration of Marcus Garvey’s name here in the USA.
The Consul General commended the organizing committee of the annual Extravaganza for upholding the efforts of the Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey annually. The event was jointly coordinated by Broward County Library, the Broward Community College, the Rootz Magazine and Talawah Roots Tonic.
Acclaimed artist, Charles Mills, also addressed the audience, proudly sharing his life-altering experiences having met the National Hero, as a child in the 1920s. He also related stories during time spent with his father, Jacob Samuel Mills, who traveled with Garvey as an officer in the uniformed Legion of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), injecting pieces of his artwork to bear relevance to those events.
The evening’s program also included audio-visual presentations and Spoken Word performances by several local artistes.
