Spreading The Message Of Jamaica ’s First Hero Curator Of World’s First Marcus Garvey Museum Speaks At JAMPACT General Meeting Tuesday, November 21st in New York City
New York, NY November 15, 2006 – Donna McFarlane, Director/Curator of Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey—the world’s first museum honoring the legacy of the Jamaican-born civil rights leader and Jamaica’s first national hero—will be the featured speaker at the upcoming Jamaica Impact, Inc. (JAMPACT) meeting on Tuesday, November 21st in New York City, addressing the museum’s plans to emphasize the message of Marcus Garvey, and integrate his teachings and philosophies into Jamaica’s contemporary society.
A noted Development Economist who has worked with international financial organizations such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, McFarlane designed and built Liberty Hall with the vision of creating an interactive museum representative of the contributions of the African Diaspora, from their own historical context. Launched in October of 2006, Liberty Hall is the first multi-media museum in the Caribbean , complete with high-tech reference library, and computer center. The Garvey Great Hall, an open air facility with a panoramic view of Downtown Kingston, will serve as a space for public functions, as well as for Liberty Hall’s education initiatives for inner-city communities throughout the island.
Through his skill as an orator and his newspaper Negro World, Marcus Garvey became one of the most influential black leaders of the early 20th Century, leading the Universal Negro Improvement Association—the largest Black nationalist movement of its time. Born in St. Ann in 1887, he started the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914, and began advocating worldwide black unity and an end to colonialism. In 1916 he moved to the United States , and soon after started a steamship company, the Black Star Line, a business venture as well as part of his “back to Africa ” plan for people of African descent. In 1925 he was convicted of mail fraud and deported to Jamaica in 1927. He died in England in 1940.
“Marcus Garvey’s contribution to the mental, social, and economic upliftment of black people worldwide is immeasurable,” states JAMPACT President Carl Heron. Adds Renée-Lauren Ellis, JAMPACT Think Tank Chair, “I am very excited to have Donna McFarlane share her vision for this ground-breaking Museum with us and to hear her talk about how the Museum and Liberty Hall can be used to resurrect and spread Marcus Garvey’s important message, especially among Jamaican youth.”
WHAT:
JAMPACT General Meeting featuring Donna McFarlane, Director/Curator of Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey
WHEN:
Tuesday, November 21st at 7:00 PM
WHERE:
Ruder Finn, 301 East 57th Street (at Second Avenue in New York City )
RSVP:
[email protected] or 917-251-6532 by Monday, November 20th.
Contact:
Renée-Lauren Ellis, Think Tank Chairperson, (917-251-6532 or [email protected])
To learn more about JAMPACT, please visit our website at www.jampact.org
