Marcus garvey quotes roots
Deeply Rooted in Black History
As February comes to a close, I bring you greetings in honor of Black history, Black resilience, Black contribution and joy! Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., National Hero of Jamaica (17 August1887 – 10 June1940) was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, Black nationalist, orator, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). 2020 is the year we witnessed two viruses killing Black people: COVID19 and racism. Many of our brothers and sisters were taken away from us this year – some before our very eyes. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd to name a few. We saw hundreds of people from the Black community lose their lives to COVID 19 – many who were working on the frontline. We also said goodbye to those precious souls, like Dame Jocelyn Barrow whose work has left an indelible mark on the Black community in the UK. 2020 has truly tested us. It nearly broke us. …and yet, in the words of Mayo Angelou, still we rise. And rise we did but this year felt different. The younger generation from all backgrounds stood, knelt and shouted side by side declaring Black Lives Matter. They set a tempo for their inclusion and anti-racist melody watched and, in many cases, admired, by the world. We saw statues of slave traders come tumbling down and emblems of Britishness and colonialism come under scrutiny and challenge. We saw parts of the UK get into what the late Civil Rights activistJohn Lewis called: “good trouble, necessary trouble”. Even in the midst of the backlash marches from far-right groups, we went higher. We saw five Black men led by Patrick Hutchinson, save a former policeman, Bryn Male. Newspapers showed Hutchinson carrying Male on his shoulder taking him to safety as he was knocked over by his colleagues as they made their racist chants. We are powerful people. There is strength in amalgamating voices to call out behaviours, actions and attitudes that are racist and discriminatory. Be that through “The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.” Like “If you haven't confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started. ” Like “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Like “Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden...” Like “The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together.” Like “God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement. ” Like “I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together.” Like “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is our only ruler; sovereign.” Like “Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men.” Like “You at this time can only be destroyed by yourselves, from within and not from without. You have reached the point where the victory is to be won from within and can only be lost from within.”
As a teacher at Berkeley High School in the 1990s, in one of the country’s first High School African American Studies Departments, I had the honor of teaching and learning with young people about Black history, literature, psychology and dramatic arts 365 days a year. With over a dozen course offerings, the department was designed to defiantly proclaim that 28 days could never hold the enormity of Blackness - our culture, our brilliance, our deep unwavering love, faith and determination. So instead of celebrating “Black History Month” each February, we paid tribute to the founder of Berkeley High School’s African American Studies Department, Richard D. Navies. In his 1970 article, "A Teachers View of Black Social Studies,” Navies articulated a vision for the Black Studies Program that I would proudly inherit nearly 25 years later:
“It is hoped that as a result of the Black Studies Program and increased inclusion of black heritage and culture into other courses, no student will graduate from Berkeley schools without some knowledge of the problems and contributions of Black people in American society and in the world, a better sense of self, some understanding of the nature of racism, and a commitment to building a just society in America.”
Today, Navies’ equity-centered, culturally inclusive vision for the integration of Black studies content and curriculum in public schools remains elusive. Despite resurgent demands for equitable education, deeper learning, ethnic studies curriculums, and real integration of social-emotional learning conditions - state, district and school policies and practices have failed to guarantee that students will be introduced to and taught accurate histories and cultures of Black, Indigenous and other Peoples of Color.
Can you recall one person, event, hi Marcus Garvey
Quotes
Marcus Garvey famously wrote: “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”
Black History Month reminds us of where we are from, we what have achieved and the beauty and richness of our culture. This year’s Black History Month feels more poignant than ever and this edition of BHM magazine reflects this.
Marcus Garvey > Quotes
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey
― Marcus Garvey, Selected Writings and Speeches of