Marcus Garvey Jr., the eldest son of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the late leader of the Pan-Africanism movement, has died in Wellington, Florida, at the age of 90.
Garvey Jr. battled with Alzheimer’s for several years prior to his death.
“The departure of Marcus Jr., whom I had been married to for over 30 years, will leave a void that cannot be filled, and he will be greatly missed by numerous family, friends, and colleagues from all over the world, in many places where he had left indelible footprints,” his widow, Jean Garvey, said in a statement via The Gleaner.
Garvey Jr. wore many hats as an electrical engineer, physicist, and mathematician. According to his widow, he spent much of his life touring and lecturing across the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and Africa.
He is survived by Jean, younger brother Dr. Julius Garvey, his sons Colin and Kyle-Sekou and stepdaughter Michelle Morris as well as four grandchildren.
His father co-founded the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League, more commonly known as the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Garvey’s teaching promoted Black independence and a Black governed state.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness paid homage attributes his own political activism to the works of Garvey.
“Part of my activism and political life is based on the principles that Garvey laid out and that is to work to improve the lives of people of the African diaspora and to make any connection we can back to Africa,” Holness said per the Sun-Sentinel. “And the idea that Marcus had of Africans building self-sufficiency in the diaspora and working to build a tribe in Africa is something I believe in wholeheartedly.”
Holness says he intends to speak with Jamaica’s consul general for South Florida to discuss how to memorialize Marcus Garvey Jr.’s life.
