Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee
Rootz Foundation
Institute of Caribbean Studies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 A.M. EDT, June 18, 2012
Contact: Geoffrey Philp
Email: babagarvey@gmail.com
Twitter: @babagarvey
Phone: 786-556-7192
The Drive to Exonerate Marcus Garvey Continues
Miami, Florida, June 18, 2012: The Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee,
Institute of Caribbean Studies, and the Rootz Foundation have launched an online petition addressed to President Barack Obama for the exoneration of the Right
Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, leader of the first and largest economic justice
movement in the USA and the world, and a National Hero of Jamaica; citing the
recognition of Jamaica's 50th Anniversary of Independence and Garvey's 125th
Birthday as key reasons for fashioning this collective campaign.
On January 12, 1922, Marcus Garvey, founder of the UNIA-ACL, was arrested by
the Bureau of Investigation and charged with mail fraud. In 1925, Marcus Garvey
began serving a five-year sentence in the US penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia.
After several appeals, President Calvin Coolidge eventually commuted his
sentence, and he was deported to Jamaica.
"The petition has the full support of Dr. Julius Garvey, Marcus Garvey's
son," said Justin Hansford, legal counsel. "We hope that this effort will help
to undo the historic miscarriage of justice."
"The launch date is also significant," added Don Rico Ricketts, founder of
the Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee. "June 16 has many major significations
for African-Heritage People, worldwide, including the anniversary of a petition
to release Marcus Garvey from prison, sent to US President Calvin Coolidge by
the Universal African Missionary Convention from Cape Town, South Africa. It is
also the birthday of Leonard Howell (pioneer Rastafarian leader) and marks the
Soweto Youth Uprising and Massacre, as well as the celebration of International
Day of the African Child, initiated by the African Union."
And Rootz Foundation President, Priest Douglass Smith declared ”As Marcus
Garvey promised, in his first message from prison in Atlanta, even if it takes a
thousand years, the grandchildren of those who suffered the injustice will
return to claim their rights.” According to Priest Douggie, “The exoneration of
the Honorable Prophet Marcus Garvey is not just for Africans but is also a
chance for the perpetuators to atone for the gross injustice.”
"This seventh anniversary of the
Congressional and Presidential Recognition of June as National Caribbean
American Heritage Month, we plan to pay special attention to the legacy of one
of the most important leaders in the Black civil rights movement, the father of
the Black Economic Independence Movement," said Dr. Claire Nelson, the architect
of National Caribbean American Heritage Month. "As we focus on small business,
community economic development, and trade, we must remember the small businesses
and international trading company launched by Marcus Garvey, and resolve to
embrace the lessons in economic self-reliance of this great 'visioneur'. We want
not just to exonerate Garvey, but also to help re-invigorate his vision of a
global trading company. It is time we own our ships, forty acres, and a mule."
The Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee, Institute of Caribbean Studies, and
the Rootz Foundation have plans to celebrate "Universal Marcus Garvey Day" on
August 17, 2012, with proclamations in Miami Gardens, Miami-Dade County, Fort
Lauderdale, and other cities nationwide, in recognition of his 125th Birthday.
***
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