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Marcus Garvey's son visits Bath during UK tour

Aaron Indigo Dr Julius Garvey at Fairfield HouseAaron Indigo
Dr Julius Garvey is a human rights activist

A prominent anti-racism campaigner said that the fight against discrimination must continue.

Dr Julius Garvey - the son of late Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey - spoke at Fairfield House in Bath on Friday as part of his UK tour.

The 89-year-old retired vascular surgeon talked about his father's legacy which helped fight racism and discrimination.

He told the crowd: "We have to keep on keeping on - that is the message.

"Righteousness will survive and righteousness will defeat wickedness."

When asked about the current fight against injustice, Dr Garvey said: "We are on the right track and this is the time for things to come forward."

Ras Benji Fairfield House Group shotRas Benji
The event was a collaboration between Fairfield House and the Marcus Garvey Legacy Trust

He added that black people and many ethnic minorities have had a "long-distance struggle" coming out of slavery and colonialism.

And describing the war in Ukraine creating a "time of chaos", he said if you look at history "we have always made progress" during these periods.

"My father's movement came to prominence after World War One," he said before he went on to explain how the US civil rights' movement came to the fore after World War Two.

Prof Shawn Sobers - an academic from the University of the West of England - said the talk went "really well" and it was "fantastic to see people come from all over" the country to watch.

Ras Benji Prof Shawn Sobers and Dr Julius GarveyRas Benji
Prof Sobers asked Dr Garvey questions about the importance of activism

Dr Garvey also spoke about his campaign to try and get US President Joe Biden to pardon his father for what he claims are trumped-up charges.

The elder Mr Garvey was born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica in August 1887 and went on to establish the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) in 1914 in Kingston.

In 1918 he moved its headquarters to New York where it progressively grew in reach and appeal.

Shawn Sobers High Priest Ras Bandele Selassie with Dr Julius GarveyShawn Sobers
Ras Bandele Selassie, the Rastafari high priest of the South West, attended the talk

This, his supporters claim, led to him being convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and imprisoned before he was deported from America - never to return.

His family maintains that the charges against the leader were trumped up in order to halt any momentum that Mr Garvey gained in the fight for civil rights.

The tour, which hopes to reach more than 1.5 million people across the country, will also see the launch of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for a permanent UK memorial to Mr Garvey.

Dr Garvey last toured the UK in 2013 and this series of events will see him travel across the length and breadth of the country.

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