Marcus Garvey People's Political Party

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The Marcus Garvey People's Political Party (formerly known as the Marcus Garvey People's Progressive Party) is a political party in Jamaica formed by the merger of two minor parties.[ citation needed ] The ideology associated with the party is socialist, republican and Pan-Africanist. The party is named after Jamaican National Hero, Marcus Garvey. On election ballots, the party campaign as MG/PPP (or MGPPP [1] ) or simply PPP.

The People's Political Party (PPP), founded in 1929 by Garvey, is Jamaica's first political party. [2] [3] In recent years, the Party has been spearheaded by the Rastafari attorney Ras Miguel Lornne. The Party predominantly compose of Rastafaris [4] who have been disenfranchised from political office and tourism in Jamaica, despite their immense contribution to Jamaican culture, and the exporting of Jamaican culture. [1] In the December 2011 election, the MGPPP put forward candidates in ten constituencies, and received between twenty and seventy-six votes each out of the thousands of votes cast. [1]

During the colonial era, the British colonial government in Jamaica tried to crush any activity by the Black majority that might upset their colonial order. [5] From the 1890s, the British tried to eradicate "influential religio-racial leaders." [5] In the mid 1920s, Blacks who promoted Black nationalism where deemed by the colonisers as a threat to their interest and colonial rule. In 1920, the colonisers viewed Marcus Garvey's People's Political Party as a threat to the status quo, as it demanded independence from Britain. [5] Temple University Associate Professor, Charles Price, writes that, in The Daily Gleaner, an author of that paper described the speeches of PPP candidates as:

"noxious doctrines," introduced to an "ignorant minoirty,...a criminal minority; and it is always possible that these might at any moment, being intoxicated by foolish doctrines, break out of control and suffer the consequences." [5]

Following the death of MGPPP's President, Moses Emanuel Henriques in February 2012, he was succeeded by Leon Burrell, [6] [7] the Caribbean history teacher.

The MGPPP nominated six candidates in the 2016 Jamaican general election. [8] [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Barnett, Michael, "Rastafari in the New Millennium: A Rastafari Reader." Syracuse University Press (2014), p. 296, ISBN   9780815633600 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  2. Tafari-Ama, Imani M., "Blood, Bullets And Bodies: Sexual Politics Below Jamaica's Poverty Line." Beaten Track Publishing (2017), p. 288, ISBN   9781786451378 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  3. Price, Charles, "Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity." NYU Press (2022), p. 29, ISBN   9781479807154 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  4. Barnett, Michael, "Rastafari in the New Millennium: A Rastafari Reader." Syracuse University Press (2014), p. 311, ISBN   9780815633600 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Price, Charles, "Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity." NYU Press (2022), pp. 29-30, ISBN   9781479807154 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  6. Lansford, Tom, "Political Handbook of the World 2015." CQ Press (2015), p. 3101, ISBN   9781483371559 (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  7. The Gleaner, "Idle lands to willing hands ... Marcus Garvey party wants property distribution" (18 September 2015) (retrieved 23 April 2024)
  8. "Independents Unite To Unseat PNP, JLP". Jamaica Gleaner. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  9. "Nomination day highlights". Jamaica Observer . 11 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.

Further reading