1946 – Marcus Garvey’s Body Returned to Jamaica

On May 22, 1946, the body of Marcus Mosiah Garvey was returned to Jamaica from London, five years after his death. This symbolic act reconnected the Jamaican-born Pan-Africanist with the land that birthed one of the most influential Black liberation ideologies of the 20th century. Garvey’s philosophy of economic self-determination, Black pride, and repatriation left an indelible impact from Harlem to Accra. Though controversial in his time, his ideas later inspired movements like Rastafarianism, the Nation of Islam, and African independence struggles. The repatriation of his body was more than a funeral rite—it was a cultural and political reclamation. May 22 became a day of homage, reflection, and transnational solidarity for Garveyites and Pan-Africanists worldwide. In honoring his physical return, the Jamaican state—and Black consciousness movements globally—reaffirmed his enduring relevance. Today, his legacy is seen as a cornerstone of global Black awakening and self-definition.