LOCAL leaders were yesterday urged to study the philosophy and conduct of national hero Marcus Garvey on the 120th anniversary of the birth of the civil rights activist.

Speaking during a floral tribute in Garvey’s honour at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, Professor of Political Thought in the Department of Government of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Rupert Lewis, said Garvey set standards which could help guide contemporary public leadership in the island today.

“I think that Jamaica’s public leadership can only benefit by a study of Marcus Garvey’s philosophy and conduct,” said Professor Lewis, who is also associate director of the Centre for Caribbean Thought.

According to the professor, Garvey’s avid interest in books and art were reflected in his expressions and suggested that public figures in leadership could do the same.

“He was a great collector of good books and artistic pieces of all sorts. When he therefore emerged to speak in public you heard someone who not only was well read but whose aesthetic sense was being carefully nurtured,” the professor said.

Consequently, his speeches which he wrote revealed craftsmanship and composition on the one hand and depths of insight on the other,” Professor Lewis added, noting that being an “acknowledged master of the English language” many of Garvey’s “speeches read like well crafted essays”.

Acknowledging Garvey’s contribution to democratic politics in Jamaica, Professor Lewis said the hero’s legacy could not be downplayed.

“Garvey’s legacy was phenomenal and ought to be drawn on by our public leadership in the widest sense as a source of guidance as we build what Garvey called in the 1930s a new Jamaica,” he said.

In the meantime, the professor said Garveyism could be infused in the school curriculum through the teaching of English Language and writing, pointing out that some of his speeches are already being used in several text-books on public speaking in the United States of America.

Garvey has also been listed in the book, Fifty Major Political Thinkers, which was authored by two British scholars.

According to Lewis, the philosophical area of Garvey’s work now needs to be paid much more attention. He pointed out, however, that Garvey was not only engaging on the philosophical level but was also rooted in the actuality of people’s lives and sought to design policies to enhance the quality of life.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, Vivian Crawford, said Garvey’s philosophy of self-reliance, self-identity and unity among all people, especially those of African descent, cannot go unnoticed.

He said although the motto of Jamaica is “Out of Many, One People”, Garvey’s message is always relevant and of special significance this year which marks the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the 46th Anniversary of Independence.

The Government, in recognition of the hero’s contribution, has initiated a number of activities over 120 days from August 4 to December 14 which include the relaunch of the popular Jamaica Journal Magazine and the Marcus Garvey Centenary issue.