Garvey’s family gifts National Hero’s medal to Liberty Hall

Kingston, January 5, 2016 – The insignia of the Order of National Hero which was presented posthumously to Marcus Garvey when he was made Jamaica’s first National Hero in 1969, has been donated by Mr Garvey’s family to the Museum at Liberty Hall in Downtown, Kingston.

The former Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Edward Seaga, received the insignia on behalf of the nation from Garvey’s son, Julius, at a special ceremony at Liberty Hall: the Legacy of Marcus Garvey today (Thursday).

Liberty Hall: the Legacy of Marcus Garvey (at King Street) is a cultural institution dedicated to information about Garvey’s life and work. The property had been Garvey’s headquarters in the 1920s. It was purchased by the Government of Jamaica during Seaga’s Administration of the 1980s to be established as a living monument of Marcus Garvey.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport runs Liberty Hall: the Legacy of Marcus Garvey through the Institute of Jamaica.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, said it was significant that Mr Seaga should accept Garvey’s medal on behalf of the nation.

Minister Grange in her message, read by Mrs Laleta Davis-Mattis, recalled that Mr Seaga, as Minister of Development and Welfare with responsibility for Arts and Culture in the 1960s “played a principal role in the return of the body of Marcus Garvey to Jamaica and in establishing the nation’s highest order, that of National Hero, of which Garvey was the first recipient.”

Reflecting on the decision to declare Marcus Garvey a Nation Hero, Mr Seaga said it was “one of the best things” that he ever did.

Minister Seaga said:
“(Marcus Garvey) was the most important man in the history of Jamaica. He was important because of his message. He was important because of the way he believed that message. He was important because of the way he could confer and pass on the inspiration that he felt and the message that he had.”

Garvey’s family also donated a bible to Liberty Hall and indicated that the National Hero’s walking stick would also be donated shortly.

Commentary

The gift of these memorabilia to the Garvey Museum, at Liberty Hall, is an excellent move, and we commend the family for their generosity. We hope this gift will not end up being lost. We must protect this invaluable if not irreplaceable gift/medal jealously.

We support this move.

Congrats from us at Vision Newspaper. See release attached from Culture Minister, Olivia “Bagsy” Grange’s office.

Commentary by Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie (senior international correspondent & Photojournalist for Vision Newspaper.)