Anti-capitalist GarveyFest in Milwaukee

The life and legacy of Marcus Garvey, along with many others instrumental to the Black liberation struggle, were honored in Milwaukee on Aug. 17 at the 25th annual GarveyFest.

The day-long celebration, hosted by Africans on the Move, fell on the 126th birthday of Marcus Garvey. It started with a parade around the event grounds and included many cultural showcases. There were African dancers and drummers, spoken word and hip-hop artists, including the group Dead Prez. Co-sponsors of the event were the Africology Department at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, the League of Young Voters, the Omni Family Medical Clinic, Pursenality and the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party.

The theme of this year’s celebration was “Know the Enemy: It’s Not the Man; It’s the Plan,” highlighting the capitalist system as the culprit behind the woes of all working and oppressed people around the world and the need to struggle against capitalism and national oppression.

Speakers described the role colonialism and imperialism have played in dividing up Africa and the exploitation of its resources that continues today. The issue of gender oppression, particularly the multiple oppressions that women from oppressed communities face, and the need to have a united movement that doesn’t continue the discrimination faced by different sections of our class, was also addressed.

Workers World Party was there to show continued support for the Black liberation struggle and all oppressed people in the fight against the heinously racist capitalist system. The WW table spread the word about the national call for Justice for Trayvon Martin Assemblies on Aug. 28 and the International People’s Assembly in Detroit on Oct. 5-6 to fight back against the bankers and their austerity, which has brought particular destruction to the people of that majority Black city.