Dennie Quill, Contributor

The local media paid scant attention to the fact that a major street in Hartford, Connecticut, was renamed in honour of our legendary National Hero, Marcus Garvey, on the weekend. I thought it was significant that 66 years after his death, civic leaders of this American state could agree that it was fitting to rename Granby Street in Hartford, Connecticut, Marcus Garvey Way. According to reports the renaming ceremony took place on September 30, witnessed by Mayor of Hartford, Eddie Perez, along with Dr. Julius Garvey, son of the late Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) founder.

Described as the father of contemporary black nationalism, Marcus Garvey's memory has been kept alive in schools, highways and buildings in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. And his name reverberates around the world as a pivotal figure in the struggle for racial equality.

The monumental impact of Garvey around the world which has earned him the title as the most influential black man of the 1920s has been lost on generations of Jamaicans. It is only in research that I have discovered that a bust of Garvey had been unveiled at the Organization of American States' Hall or Heroes in Washington D.C., and that parks had been named in his honour in Harlem, New York, and California in the United States as well as Hammersmith, London, that streets had been named in his honour in Brooklyn, New York and Nairobi, Kenya.

Ahead of his time

Here at home we have named a major highway in his honour, his likeness appears on the $20 coin and a school is also named after him in his native St. Ann. This publisher, journalist, entrepreneur and politician was ahead of his time as evidenced by his brilliant oratory and excellent organisational skills. Today's emphasis on the diaspora had a forerunner in Garvey's UNIA which was founded in 1914 with the motto 'One God! One aim! One Destiny!' Garvey was able to rouse the masses under the banner of the UNIA which reportedly had some 1,000 branches in 40 countries with its members embracing the objective of worldwide unity among blacks and advancing self-discipline as a basis of racial pride.

An inspirational figure

Garvey's legacy makes him an inspirational figure for oppressed people everywhere. But while his mantra of hard work and self-reliance has inspired many throughout the world, the majority of Jamaican youth, trapped in the cycle of poverty and violence, have not been able to draw any inspiration from this man. Our leaders in academia need to find a way to capture the essence of Garvey and bring it to the younger generation so that they can measure the impact of his achievement and success. We need to understand what propelled a young black man to take on the establishment, and even in the face of ridicule by American blacks, at 27 he felt he could attempt to lead the largest organised mass movement in black history.

This latest honour paid to the late Jamaican National Hero comes at a time when Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has commissioned a legal study of U.S. court documents from Garvey's mail fraud trial, with the hope of proving that he was unfairly convicted in Atlanta where he was sentenced to a five-year term in prison. In the meantime, council member Charles Barron has also called for a full pardon for Garvey.

If Garvey were alive today he would be very disappointed to see that people of African ancestry have done precious little to redeem Africa, and that the continent is rife with genocide, famine and disease. He would also be sorely sad to see that young Jamaicans continue to slaughter each other and young men being mired in hopelessness.

Dennie Quill is veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com