Note from BW of Brazil: As more and more people become aware of the importance of Brazil in the history of African descendants, the numbers of Africans shipped to Brazil during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (38-40%, 9 times more than those sent to the US), its cultural debt to Africa and the conditions of the Afro-Brazilian community, more prominent leaders and influential persons of African descent are placing the country on their radars or on their agendas. The few decades have a number of prominent persons of African descent visit Brazil, including Nelson Mandela, business leaders, political figures and entertainers. The latest to pay Brazil a visit is Dr. Julius Garvey, the son of the legendary father of Pan-Africanism, Marcus Garvey. Dr. Garvey comes to Brazil starting today and will visit the cities of Salvador, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro with the goal of building stronger links between black Brazilians and the African Diaspora as well as stimulating more dialogue and exchange between the business and intellectual community. Below is a short overview of Dr. Garvey’s visit courtesy of the Africas website.
by Antônio Lúcio
Julius Garvey, son of the Marcus Garvey, the founder of Pan-Africanism, arrives in Brazil at the end of August to meet with the black community.
Garvey Agenda in Brazil
Garvey Agenda is the meeting of Afro-Brazilians with the vascular surgeon Julius Garvey, president of the Marcus Garvey Foundation (leader of the Pan-Africanist movement in the 1920s, in the United States) in two Brazilian cities (Rio de Janeiro and Salvador), and may possibly be held in another city in the country.
In these meetings, Garvey will visit black communities, afrocircuitos (or Afro Circuits meaning monuments, samba schools) and then maintain contacts with black intellectuals in university centers where, together, they will discuss the direction of black international relations from the standpoint of the Diaspora and Pan-Africanism.
In each of these meetings, the receptionists will pay a posthumous tribute to Marcus Garvey, Julius Garvey’s father. The date is propitious, because on August 17th, 1887, in Jamaica, the founder of Pan-Africanism was born. Also in 2013, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
The coming of Julius Garvey to Brazil is being coordinated/mediated by American economist Alison Moses, president of Diaspora Rica LLC, and in Brazil by journalist Carlos Nobre, a professor at PUC-Rio and president of the Portal Cultural of Rio de Janeiro.
Who is Julius Garvey
Julius W. Garvey is a certified surgeon who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases. He is a staff surgeon at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and was previously Head of Thoracic Surgery at Queens Hospital Center.
He was internationally educated at the best universities in the world and is an Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
In addition, he has published several articles on the topic of thoracic and vascular diseases in many peer-reviewed journals.
As a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases, Dr. Garvey has given lectures, taught and presented the results at conferences throughout the US and internationally.
Dr. Garvey has served on the boards of several organizations such as the Board of Education of People of African Descent, Fundação Zumbi (Zumbi Foundation), The Brotherhood, The Marcus Garvey International Committee Inc., the Read Across Jamaica Foundation, the International Network on Appropriate Technology and is a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute.
Over the years, he has worked together with various ministries and the University of the West Indies, in matters relating to education of Jamaican youth, building schools, the transfer of books and medical supplies and an exchange program of medical students.
He also worked with the Department of Corrections of the State of New York on the rehabilitation of members of the prison population.
He founded a school in Jamaica and a medical clinic in Senegal, rehabilitated the Kwame Nkrumah Msuaoléu in Nkroful, Ghana, where he was “crowned” as Nana Kwesi III of safohne.
He planted 50,000 trees in Northern Ghana and visited South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Senegal in a variety of missions. He was recently named Goodwill Ambassador to Senegal by the then president of the country Abdoulaye Wade.
Dr. Garvey has traveled on humanitarian aid missions to Haiti after the earthquake and works closely with the Association of Haitian Physicians abroad.
Purpose of the visit to Brazil
- To redeem relations between great black names of the Diaspora and black Brazilian intellectuals.
- Increase black Brazilian relations with the Diaspora.
- Expand the relationship between black Brazilians and black Americans for means of investments of American businessmen in the black Brazilian community.
- To begin, with this visit an agenda in Brazil of great visits of renowned names of the Diaspora in the country to discuss common goals and issues on both sides.
- Expand the relationships between black American universities, Unilab (Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira or University of the International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia) and other public universities in that have progressed in affirmative action.
- Strengthen relationships between blacks in the Diaspora, enabling the increase of international African visitors regularly to Brazil.
Results
The results of these meetings can provide that Brazilian intellectuals can be translated in the US and vice versa. Videos and movies will also be made in co-productions with the two groups. To enable black American investments in culture, education and entertainment in Brazil. To expand ties between black American universities and black Brazilian groups.
Proposal
Julius Garvey, vascular surgeon, son of Marcus Garvey, is today the president of the Marcus Garvey Foundation. He has participated in meetings and debates in the US addressing the situation of blacks in the country and social inclusion policies as much for blacks as for immigrants. He is recognized as a major Afro militant and doctor. He demonstrated to the American economist Alison Moses, the desire to know Brazil due to the great strength of Afro-Brazilian culture that presents itself to the world. He also noted the formidable work of Afro intellectuals and black entities. Thus, Garvey asked Alison Moses to organize a visit to Brazil. In this respect, the period of August 26-31 of this year is reserved for this tour as August 17 is the date of birth of his father, Marcus Garvey, in 1887.
Note from BW of Brazil: Here is a brief announcement from our friends over at Correio Nagô about Dr. Garvey’s visit.
Marcus Garvey’s son will visit Salvador to promote Pan-Africanism
On August 30, the legacy of Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican political leader who co-founded Pan-Africanism, will be presented in Salvador, Bahia (northeast Brazil) by his heir. Dr. Julius Marcus Garvey, Marcus’ son and the Marcus Garvey Foundation’s president, will highlight his father’s internationally recognized actions, at the Public Library, in Barris, at 2pm. The visit is sponsored by the Midia Etnica Institute and the Rica Diaspora Institution, in order to promote and broadcast the activist’s memory. It celebrates 50 years of the African Union, an African political organization inspired by Garvey’s activism. The Steve Biko Institute sponsors this free meeting in which students, activists from the Movimento Negro and the audience will be able to take part.
The visit
Dr. Julius Garvey will arrive in Salvador on Thursday, August 29th and visit an organization that protects disadvantaged people and a Carnaval Bloc, Afro Olodum. Next, he will take part in the 3rd interstate lecture about racial promotion and equality (CONEPIR) and attend a reception with local leaders, business leaders and black artists. Before his visit to Salvador, Julius will visit Rio de Janeiro, meet with black communities, discover Afro Tours (monuments, samba schools), and debate with Black intellectuals in several university centers. There, through the themes of education and economic development, the debate will broach the options the Black Diaspora has in international Black relations.
Pan-Africanism is a political, philosophical and social movement that promotes the protection of the African people and the African continent unity in a unique sovereign State, for all African people inside and outside Africa.
The Pan-Africanist theory was developed in the middle of the 20th century by African people from the American Diaspora, descendants of enslaved Africans and people born in Africa, like William Edward Burghardt Du Bois and Marcus Mosiah Garvey, among others. Next, the movement was brought to the political arena by Africans like Kwame Nkrumah. In Brazil, it was largely spread by Abdias do Nascimento.
Biography – Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887 – 1940) was a communicator, a business leader and an activist. He is considered as one of the greatest activists in the Black nationalist international movement. He headed the most important movement among African descendants. He is still remembered as the principal leader of the movement “Go back to Africa”. He created a movement in order to make Black people more politically focused on Africa and to make colonial European powers decolonize Black territory. Marcus Garvey became internationally famous thanks to Reggae music and the Rastafari religion that considered him as a prophet. Musicians like Bob Marley and Burning Spear referred to him in their songs. In Jamaica, he reached the status of national hero.
Source: Africas, Correio Nagô
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