August 17 is observed as Marcus Garvey Day. Last year, the Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) posthumously presented the "Keys" to the City to The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a celebration which took the form of a Civic Ceremony at Emancipation Park.
Marcus Garvey, who would have celebrated his 126th birthday this year, was apowerful orator who rallied hundreds of thousands ofAfrican descendants across the region and even extra regionally in his quest to reclaim Africa for Africans and build black economic power and pride. I am affirmative that we can all attest to the fact that blacks have come a far way which is largely attributed to the selfless work of this icon.
As beneficiaries of this great legacy, we need to play our part in continued struggle towards achieving equality. We have an obligation to educate ourselves and others, of the challenges our ancestors faced in order for us to have a better life. It is for this reason that we continue to celebrate the lives of those who have passed and acknowledge those still among us.
This year, the KSAC will bestow the Silver Medal to Queen Mother Mariamne Samad, in recognition of her contribution to Jamaica through her teachings about Marcus Garvey.
Queen Mother Samad has dedicated her life to the upliftment of all persons of African descent through the teachings and philosophy of Marcus Mosiah Garvey through the establishment of the Sankore Nubian Cultural Workshop in Havendale Jamaica, in 1976.
Samad, who turns 91 In September, was installed Queen Mother during Heritage Week in 1999 and acknowledged for her role as an exemplary female elder.