by Derrick Scott
ATLANTA – Later this month, a commemorative plaque will be revealed in Atlanta, Georgia, to pay tribute to Jamaica’s inaugural national hero, Rt. Excellency Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States is Her Excellency Audrey P. Marks, OJ. will unveil a plaque on March 25, 2025. This event will take place at the Big Bethel AME Church in downtown Atlanta. Big Bethel AME is where Marcus Garvey first spoke in Atlanta on March 25, 1917. This event marks the 108th anniversary of that important lecture.
Unveiling Ceremony
The unveiling ceremony is part of the second annual Atlanta Marcus Garvey Lecture. This event was started by Steven Golding who started the symposium. Golding is a professor of Garveyism. In addition, he is the President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The event is in collaboration with the Atlanta Jamaica Association.
Adding to the significance of the event, 25 March is also commemorated by the United Nations as the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Mr. Golding explained that the plaque will be unveiled by him and Ambassador Marks. It was designed by Nubian Jak, a British Jamaican. He has created over 100 black history markers in the UK since 2000. Nubian Jak will attend the ceremony in Atlanta for his first unveiling in the USA.
Film Screening
Professor Golding further noted that guests will be treated to an exclusive screening of the 40-minute narrative film “Mosiah” – the first movie to depict the life of the Right Excellency Marcus Mosiah Garvey. The movie features Atlanta writer and actor Samuel Lee-Fudge as Garvey. Fudge will appear as a guest at the lecture.
In commending the event organizers, Ambassador Marks expressed that Marcus Mosiah Garvey “emerged as one of the most influential Pan-African leaders of the 20th century, wielding his visionary leadership and magnetism as an orator to awaken a global consciousness among Black people.”
As the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), Garvey built the largest mass movement of Black people in history, establishing a powerful framework for economic independence, cultural pride, and political self-determination that reached from the streets of Harlem to the shores of Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond.
Special Guests
Among the invited guests, for the March 25th event, are the Honourable Andre Dickens, Mayor of Atlanta, Mr. Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General for the Southern United States, Dr. Elaine Bryan, Jamaica’s Honorary Consul in Atlanta and Ms. Evette Taylor-Reynolds. President of the Atlanta Jamaica Association.
