Market Street in St Ann's Bay has been renamed Marcus Garvey Street in honour of Jamaica's first National Hero, who was born in the town and lived on that street at No. 32.

The renaming, which took place on Monday, August 17, coincided with the 122nd anniversary of Garvey's birth.

"We see it fit to rename Market Street in St Ann's Bay, Marcus Garvey Street, in recognition of our first National Hero who lived there," Mayor of St Ann's Bay, Ivan Anderson, told The Gleaner recently.

"We have Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, so why can't we do something to honour him here in St Ann? I know we have the Marcus Garvey Technical High School but I think renaming the street after him is quite appropriate," the mayor said.

Other tributes to Garvey in St Ann include a statue at the St Ann Parish Library.

Honours

Garvey has also been honoured in several countries across the world, including several countries in Africa, along with the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America, where a park, an elementary school, a cultural centre and several other honours have been bestowed on him.

Garvey, Pan-Africanist and publisher, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 to unite Africans in the diaspora.

A supporter of black self-love, Garvey died in 1940 and was named Jamaica's first National Hero in November 1964 by the Jamaican government.