Manley

The Atlanta-based Trumpet Foundation will on Saturday induct late Prime Minister Michael Manley into the International Walk of Fame.

Mr. Manley will be honoured at a ceremony scheduled for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, for his sterling contribution to the international civil rights movements through his passionate concerns and tireless work for equality, and social and human rights.

Chairman of the Michael Manley Foundation, Danny Roberts, said the induction of the late Jamaican leader represents "a timely reminder of the relevance of Mr. Manley's philosophy to a rekindling of the hopes and fulfilling of the dreams of the vast majority of the Jamaican people for a life of peace, economic betterment, social justice and egalitarianism".

Mr. Roberts said the philosophy of change, which Mr. Manley advocated, remains an enduring legacy for those wishing to advance the agenda of progressive politics. He said Jamaica's future, its possibilities and prospects must entertain and embrace the ideals of Mr. Manley's political thoughts as a constant reminder that the notions of equality, social justice and self-reliance are the prime purpose of human existence.

Understood politics

He noted that Mr. Manley understood the dynamics of the politics of change and its connectivity to global politics.

"It was his untiring devotion to boldly confront the inequitable global economic arrangements and terms of trade that led him to define a Third World ideology as a to existing global arrangements where the world was sinking into increasing division between narrowing wealth and spreading misery; a world too unjust to be acceptable and too unstable to be safe," Roberts said.

Political philosophy

According to a release from the Michael Manley Foundation, Mr. Manley's call for new levels of dialogue between the North and the South; practical coalition through South-South cooperation; and his support for the liberation struggles of the times, were all interwoven in a major continuing strand of political philosophy.

"It is this consistency of thought, and unfailing commitment to equality, that is to be recognised by the Atlanta-based Trumpet Foundation," the release read.

Mr. Roberts said that the Michael Manley Foundation will be embarking on a series of public discussion forums to highlight the positive contribution of Mr. Manley's political ideology to Jamaica's political, economic and social development.

According to Mr. Roberts, much of Mr. Manley's thinking was expressed through his political party, the People's National Party, and his firm belief that political parties are the most important single agent through which the politics of change must be effected.