Restore Liberty Hall and Marcus Garvey’s whirlwind

marcus garvey

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), is a Pan-African movement founded in Jamaica in 1914 by Marcus Garvey.  Garvey started many community based organizations, including the Black Cross Nurses which has been in existence for over ninety years.  The Black Cross Nurses came to prominence in Belize when they were called to active duty during the hurricane which hit Belize on September tenth, 1931.  After taking root, Garveyism spread across the globe. Millions of people joined the UNIA, prior to the collapse of the man who started the organization. Liberty Halls were once the hallmark of the UNIA, but a UNIA building on Barrack Road in Belize City, has fallen into disrepair over the years.  Associated organizations have come together to raise funds to repair the Liberty Hall building and to spread the word about Garveyism.  News Five spoke to the president of the Mutual Improvement Alliance which is leading the restoration effort.

Emerson Guild, President, of Mutual Improvement Alliance

emerson gill

“What’s happening tomorrow night? We will be showing the movie the Whirl Wind. It will be describing the influences, Marcus Garvey’s opinions, the philosophies and the works that he produced from the early 1900’s right up into the 30’s.”

Jose Sanchez

“So it’s a documentary or a movie?”

Emerson Guild

“It’s a movie in a documentary format and it will highlight the court cases, it will highlight Marcus Garvey’s problems, his positivities; it will be definitely very, very interesting.”

ed williams

Ed Williams, Acting Leader, Soka Gakkai

“I’d really like to see Liberty Hall being what it’s supposed to be. Right now it’s kind of an eye sore but not for lone, which is one of the reasons we’re having this Tribute to Marcus Garvey at the Liberty Hall to emphasize where Liberty Hall is now so that people can understand where we came from. We will of course be able to show Liberty Hall of the future once we’ve completed the renovations.”

Jose Sanchez

“It’s only a building; but part of Garveyism shows that community businesses and community stores, should we see those?”

Ed Williams

“Definitely, there is an entire plan in place that is going to unfold as time goes by. Emerson and I have been working together on this and we go all the way back and I’ve been living in the states for about twenty-three years and returned home specifically for the purpose of making a difference.”

Emerson Guild

“The Blacks around the world are descendants of Africans coming out of that continent. Back in 1922-23 Marcus Garvey created a renaissance of black leadership talking about social, talking about repatriation, talking about educational excellence. And in Belize, we have a liberty hall that has been a part of that renaissance. But if you look the Liberty Hall in Belize today, it is in a state of disrepair. Well, we’ve come together as the mutual alliance for improvement of humanity and we are going to make a change at the liberty hall, starting on September eighteenth. It’s a Saturday and we’ll start to do face life of Liberty Hall.”

Marcus Garvey: Look for me in the Whirlwind will show at seven o’ clock at the Liberty Hall on Barrack Road.