THE RESTORATION of Liberty Hall, the Jamaican headquarters of the Right Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica's first National Hero and Black liberator, will begin early October and slated to be completed for the hero's official birthday, August 17, 2001.
The building is located at 76 King Street, downtown Kingston. The government through the Ministry of Education has voted a grant of J$15 million, as a part of its current budget to complete the project.
Liberty Hall was established in 1926 as the social, cultural and political meeting place and headquarters of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
Cultural historian, Tony Laing, is credited as one of the principal advocates, along with Frank Gordon, a former UNIA member and social activist, calling for the restoration of Liberty Hall.
According to Mr. Laing the former Mayor of Kingston, the late Ralph Brown in the 1980s, on behalf of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), the municipal government, purchased the building.
"The place was in a very dilapidated condition," Mr. Laing said. Mayor Brown informed him that the KSAC was not in the position to buy the building, but that he would approach the central government of Jamaica to do so. The premises was not long after bought by the government and placed under the jurisdiction of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust.
Architect, Lloyd Williams of Williams Associates has been working on the restoration project for over 3 years.
Amphitheatre
A fence was erected and a security guard placed to protect the integrity of this national monument.
The Education Minister has established a Friends of Liberty Hall committee, chaired by Elaine Melbourne, cultural administrator. Others on the committee include, Professor Rupert Lewis, University of the West Indies: journalist, Ken Jones; Deacon Wolde Medhin of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; Marcus Garvey Jr and Dr. Julius Garvey, sons of the national hero; Donna Scott-Mottley, Marjorie Scott Anderson, Findlay Clarke, Kenry Jackson, Major Richard Reese, Denny Repole, Frank Gordon and Tony Laing.
The committee's mandate is to raise funds for the completion of the restoration and the administration of the building.
According to Elaine Melbourne, they committee will seek to raise J$25 million, which would leave them another $12 million to raise. Bank accounts have been established at various Kingston banks for people to make contributions and several other fund raising efforts are planned.
On completion, the three-story building, it will house a 100-seat amphitheatre, interactive library, gift shops, museum and a 100-seat lecture hall. A statue of Mr. Garvey will face the King Street entrance and a bust will be placed in the museum.
The consensus of Mr. Williams, Mr. Laing and Ms Melbourne is that a restored Liberty Hall will serve as a magnet that will attract scholars and visitors from around the world to learn more about the cultural and historical importance of the project and ultimately, Marcus Garvey.
