In honour of the 114th birthday of Marcus Garvey, one young Bermudian is dedicating his thesis about the black nationalist leader's ties to the Island, to the Bermuda National Library.

Quito Swan, 27, who recently graduated from Howard University with a Master's Degree in African History, has produced research on Garvey that is understood to be the first known literary document written about his ties to Bermuda.

The presentation will coincide with Garvey's birthday on August 18.

And the good will gesture of the thesis, entitled "Marcus Garvey and The United Negro Improvement Association's (UNIA) Presence in Bermuda, 1920-1937", is hoped by Mr. Swan to enlighten all generations of Bermudians.

Mr. Swan said researching the thesis was an experience that allowed him to see the parallels of Bermuda's history during the time of Garvey's revolution in the 1920s.

"Marcus Garvey reached Bermuda four times but was never allowed in," Mr. Swan said. "Many people didn't realise that. There were direct orders from Britain for him to be kept away.

"I think this work is important, to study our history more deeply. One thing that can be seen is that history definitely repeats itself. On one level to see that we still have a lot of common problems. I also learned that blacks in Bermuda during that time were no different from blacks in other parts of the Caribbean - and I was also reminded of the fact that we are still living in a British Colony."

Mr. Swan, who is also on the education committee of the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), said it took him several months to research and complete the project, which also included information on the black nationalist leader's UNIA itself.

And he likened the EWF's philosophy as having directly transformed from Garvey's black empowerment philosophies.

Jamaican born Marcus Garvey emigrated to New York in the 1914, during the post slavery era. And as a result of the oppression and racism encountered by blacks during that time, Garvey sought to unify blacks with his self empowerment philosophy.

Garvey believed that blacks would never be seen as equals in the Americas and founded the Black Star Shipping Line in an effort to take people from the entire black Diaspora back to Africa.

Mr. Swan said: "The UNIA had a serious impact on Bermuda. Blacks in Bermuda have been involved in the UNIA movement from the very early stages. Many black Bermudians, who were farmers and seamen during that time, joined the Black Star Shipping Line.

"The farmers joined so that they could ship their goods for trade. So you see the UNIA and the Black Star Shipping Line was not just a concept to take people back to Africa, but was for trans-national shipping and a way to give economic empowerment to blacks during that time."

He explained that Richard Hilton Tobitt, an Antiguan priest, founded the organisation in Bermuda in the 1920s. And he noted that the group had a following of 600 members, Island wide.

Mr. Swan continued: "The UNIA had five branches in Bermuda at that time and they did a lot of work with the youth. And several offshoots of the UNIA included the Bermuda Recorder newspaper and a lot of other family oriented organisations."

He encouraged anyone that reads his work to "come with an open mind and give - it's about receiving".

He also implored individuals who had any other information about Marcus Garvey and the UNIA movement in Bermuda to contact him at the Ethiopian World Federation on 292-8930.