Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a Jamaican printer, founded and led UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association), the largest Black mass movement of the 1900s in the US. It reached its height in the early 1920s. The FBI broke its back, but Garveyism would go on to shape the thinking of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam, Rastafarians, Kwame Nkrumah and others.
In the early 1900s, the three main Black leaders in the US were, in order of appearance:
- Booker T. Washington (Tuskegee Institute): education, boostraps, respectability politics
- W.E.B. Du Bois (NAACP): civil rights, winning court cases, integration.
- Marcus Garvey (UNIA): Black nationalism, Black unity, Black pride, Black businesses, Back to Africa.
Of these, Garvey had by far the most appeal. UNIA, unlike the NAACP or Tuskegee, did not depend on White people.
Du Bois on Garvey:
“Marcus Garvey is, without doubt, the most dangerous enemy of the Negro race in America and in the world. He is either a lunatic or a traitor.”
Garvey was on good terms with the NAACP’s biggest enemy: the Klan! Like the Klan, Garvey believed in segregation, racial purity and sending Blacks back to Africa. Garvey was a huge fan of Booker T. Washington.
Having seen Jamaica, the US, Britain, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela and elsewhere, Garvey said Blacks were held back by:
- Self-hatred, which made them hate each other, making it hard to act as one.
- Having no country, army, navy or government of their own.
- A weak and divided Africa, which could not protect her own, at home or abroad.
UNIA would bring Blacks together and create an empire in Africa.
It had the beginnings of a Black state:
- A constitution,
- A flag – the Red, Black and Green (pictured above),
- Black businesses, like one that made Black dolls,
- A shipping line – the Black Star Line,
- A newspaper – The Negro World,
- Men in arms,
- Black Cross nurses,
- etc.
Based in Harlem, it had millions of members, Malcolm X’s father among them. It had branches in dozens of countries.
The crown jewel was to be the Black Star Line, which would return people to Africa and carry on trade between Blacks in the US, the Caribbean and Africa.
Liberia set aside land outside of Monrovia for UNIA. UNIA hoped to start sending tens of thousands of people beginning in 1924. But when Garvey’s technicians returned to the US from Liberia, they were arrested and deported.
US President Coolidge sent Du Bois to Liberia. After that Liberia cooled to UNIA. The land went instead to Firestone, a White American rubber company.
And then Garvey himself was thrown in prison and later deported. The FBI nailed him on fraud in the sale of shares in the Black Star Line. Garvey was no business man – his books were a mess, the Black Star Line itself was failing. But even worse, Garvey acted as his own lawyer in the trial.
UNIA was never the same again. It proved hard for Garvey to run it from Jamaica, then still under British rule.
– Abagond, 2015.
See also:
- Back to Africa
- Black self-hatred – aka internalized racism
- Harlem
- Booker T. Washington
- Malcolm X
- Lumumba
- Mao
- Che Guevara
- Scramble for Africa
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Since my childhood I’ve been a staunch Garveyite. Though I have tremendous respect and admiration for Dr. King and Malcolm X I think that Garvey had the best ideas regarding black liberation. Mr. Garvey knew we all couldn’t go back to Africa. He made provisions for those who had to remain behind to form colonies of like minded black people. My hat has always been off towards this great man. Too bad he was undone by another black person Du’ Bois who hated him.
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Is a post on W.E.B. DuBois coming soon?
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While it is great to recognize separate Black leaders of the past let us remember that each one of them while succeeding to a degree failed to satisfy each and every Black of today.
Each of those leaders operated within the boundaries of their existence and each moved the cause of the Black forward.
While other forces were at work to destroy their movements, as you stated, in some moments the Blacks also worked against each other.
Marcus Garvey failed to understand the reluctance of African leaders to accept those Black individuals who they thought were inferior and would not add anything to their tribes. Also there was no money to pay for the desires stated which made the desired results nothing but a dream.
There is nowhere today or then that is or was going to be set aside to provide all of the Black Americans a place to live separately. The only way that territory has been given up to some group of individuals is thru conquest and there is no reason to believe that such a upheaval is possible today or has ever been possible in this nation. As far as Africa is concerned the only land that could be taken is in the Sahara Desert and it might be possible that even that land would not be available.
The only way forward is thru a constant reminder of the unfavorable treatment that Blacks receive, a change in the attitude of many Blacks from negative to positive, massive efforts of increasing the education and/or training of Blacks.
Each year more and more Blacks graduate from quality higher education institutions and merge into the main stream of the US economy. The individuals take their positions in the economy equally to the efforts that they put forward. Some move into the Black movement others move into the general public and become invisible.
Each education activity from preschool to the highest degree obtainable should be evaluated and condemned if it does not provide the very best for their students.
As the years go by there will be fewer members of the Black movement and it will consist of educated leaders leading those who have failed to gain acceptance in the general public.
Waiting for the people who you refer to as “White” to change the ways that they have lived for thousands of years is close to folly. Any review of European history will indicate a story of mass killing, denial of basic human dignity, starvation, massive incarcerations of humans in prisons and death camps.
Just look at World War II and the millions of Europeans that were dislocated, starved, murdered, imprisoned, raped and in every way possible belittled to such a degree that the people became only shells of human existence.
Officially, roughly 8.7 million Soviet soldiers died in the course of the war. World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world population.
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/ww2-by-the-numbers/world-wide-deaths.html
The greatest problem that Blacks have had and have is to allow themselves to create in their minds some group of people into one class and call them “White”, while not recognizing that Europeans are separate and are ethnically divided with more hate toward each other than there ever has been between the “Blacks” and “Whites”.
The Blacks fail to understand that the “poor White” has suffered from the “wealthy” almost as equal to that which has been suffered by the “Black”. History does not record the story of the poor unless it assists in showing some larger picture.
So you may rightfully continue to show these articles, which helps Blacks to form a mental attitude of hate for the “White” individuals in the nation with the thought that some improvement might be gained or you can balance your articles with some factual statements about some of the good that some Whites may have done. You could broaden out your teaching to include the problems that are occurring today in European nations with the immigration of more African to show the difficulties that occur when any group of individuals are merged into a social group.
You are the leader!
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This is an excellent article about Garvey, Abagond-I am going to look into his policies even deeper, now!
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That’s rich, given Du Bois’ leftist leanings I’d say he was the biggest race traitor of the time. He’s the kind of person who thinks racial interests are progressed by equality and getting people to be nicer to you, and then fails to understand why those policies don’t move his people forward.
It’s a pity that Garvey was the last push for actual nationalism among American blacks. Modern black nationalism is a bizarre, reactionary cult not much different from Stormfront. The absence of true, ideological nationalism in America has made it far too easy for liberal values to dominate. It’s time you changed that.
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@ Allen Shaw
My post showed both of those. It also pointed out Garvey’s own folly. This was not a simplistic “let’s demonize White people” post.
Most people reading this have been brainwashed by Whites. I know I have and you clearly have too. So the useful “balance” I can add is to examine that brainwashing and to talk about the parts of history that go untold or are often mistold.
In the case of Garvey, White American sources say little about him, while even Black American ones sanitize the part the US government played. Only Jamaican and African sources told the fuller tale.
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I perhaps have been brainwashed by Whites however I do not believe you have understood what I am saying. I do not have to read about Black history I have been a part of it for over 79 years of reading and studying. I did not spend my time reading about just Black people I have read about the history of many other places and many different people. I have merely asked you to take a few moments and do a comparative analysis of the European history and realize that people you refer to as “White” are ethnically diverse and have been slaughtering each other for centuries and for your information they did not stop legally enslaving themselves until the middle of the 19th century.
Today the Russian are at war with Ukraine over some nonsense, the Islamic people although not northern European are at war slaughtering each other.
Please review the site following. I have a believe that our problems are great; however after you review the current wars in the world you may start to believe it is not brainwashing that is the problem it is “small local thinking”! How do our problem compare to those people living in the war torn nations listed.
http://www.warsintheworld.com/?page=static1258254223
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Abagond, sorry for going off topic but i wanted to ask you a question.
I’m surprised you haven’t done a piece on the ex-police officer from the Baltimore police Dept. Michael A. Wood Jr.
Here is a radio broadcast with him, being interviewed about the corruption within the dept. in which he worked for 11 years. He exposes illegal and discriminatory practices against Black people.
http://www.spreaker.com/user/smalleyandhyso/183-ex-baltimore-police-officer
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Facts that indicate that the man and organization were hollow. The whole Messiah thing is stupid.
Du Bois was sorely disappointed, because he had hoped to benefit financially from his involvement in this affair.
Proof of the stupidity and folly of the man. Mr. Little, Malcolm’s father, was killed by the Klan Garvey was on ‘good terms with’.
One of Garvey’s lieutenants was Benito Sylvain, a member of one of Haiti’s most prominent clans. He had tried to interest Ethiopia in taking the leadership of a movement similar to Garvey’s circa 1900, he didn’t get far with that. According to Robert Peet Skinner, Menelik II said:
Emperor Menelik II named Benito Sylvian Ethiopia’s representative at the Pan-African Conference of 1900 in London.
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Thanks for that link @sondis
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@ Jefe
I will probably do a post on him sooner or later, but no concrete plans for one in the near future.
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@ Sondis
I did hear about him. Thanks for the link. I might do a post.
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Sure thing, Sharinalr,Abagond.
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Marcus Garvey was one of the twentieth century’s most influential leaders of black nationalism. In establishing the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Garvey hoped to build-through enterprise and mass education—a unified nation of people of African blood. A powerful orator, organizer, and writer, Garvey recruited nearly one million UNIA members worldwide.
Marcus Garvey lived in the United States for approximately 11 years. Of the 11 years two and a half years he spent in jail. He was not a citizen of the United States (He should be discussed with world leaders not US leaders, because he did not live with the restraints of a Southern Black US citizen)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Garvey
http://www.biography.com/people/marcus-garvey-9307319
https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/08/18/white-leaders-are-glorified-for-their-misdeeds-yet-marcus-
garvey-is-maligned-by-pbs-for-serving-black-people/
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/garvey.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/peopleevents/p_garvey.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/
http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/
http://marcusgarvey.com/
http://index.about.com/index?gclid=Cj0KEQjwmNuuBRDTu5rDjr2kxJsBEiQAWlm6UhgSAavpbUCPzC5gv8JmRFOhLpKKO2JbSdb46sz3gUIaAiSD8P8HAQ&am=broad&q=the+life+of+marcus+garvey&an=google_s&askid=ee0d7ad7-fcca-4346-b6a8-3d2d72239c40-0-ab_gsb&dqi=&qsrc=999&ad=semD&o=5922&l=sem
https://www.google.com/search?q=Marcus+Garvey&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Marcus_Garvey.aspx
http://spartacus-educational.com/USAunia.htm
Following are interesting extracts:
Regarded as Pioneer of Black Pride
Despite limited success in his lifetime, Garvey has become an international symbol of black freedom. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., called him “the first man, on a mass scale to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny.” During its heyday the UNIA claimed as members Black Muslim leader Elijah Mohammed and the father of Malcolm X. In 1964 the Jamaican government proclaimed Garvey a national hero. His legacy served as an integral force in the “Black is Beautiful” consciousness of the 1960’s. More recently, Garvey has become an inspirational figure within the Jamaican Rastafarian religious movement. Indebted to the perseverance and dedication of Garvey’s Pan-African struggle, Malcolm X wrote, “Each time you see another independent nation on the African continent you know Marcus Garvey is alive.”
On the voyage back to his homeland in 1914, Garvey conceived of the plan to create the UNIA and its coordinating body, the African Communities League. On August 1, with the assistance of a few colleagues, he officially launched his organization. Adopting the motto “One God! One Aim! One Destiny!,” the UNIA offered opportunity to all blacks. The organization’s plan of African redemption centered upon the establishment of black educational institutions. Following Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee model, Garvey sought to build Jamaican trade schools that would provide missionaries for “Mother Africa.” Black middle-class Jamaicans, however, remained indifferent to his vision. In need of funds and support, Garvey wrote to Washington, who in turn invited him to come to America. Tragically, Washington died in 1915, before the two could meet.
Success in New York City Prompted A Move
(1916) The following year Garvey arrived—at the age of 28— in New York City. Penniless and unknown, he struggled to raise support for his Jamaican educational program.
Upon his return to Jamaica in 1927 Garvey entered local politics.
(1921) During the same year, Garvey’s meeting with the acting Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) greatly contributed to his faltering status. His statements that the UNIA and the KKK shared a similar policy of racial separation spread outrage throughout the black community. Garvey’s demand for a unified African Orthodox church left him almost entirely alienated from conventional black religious denominations.
The history of the UNIA in the United States should be a subject matter separate from Marcus Garvey, because of the short period of time that he lived in this nation.
An evaluation of Marcus Garvey’s dream to have “all” Blacks to return to Africa will show how foolish it was!
Check the population of all of the nations in North, Central and South America and the adjoining islands and you will see how impossible the dream was and is.
Beware of individuals who speak with a smooth tongue!
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I feel a bit ashamed that I am of Jamaican descent and only have very basic knowledge of Garvey. I really like his ideas.
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In Front of or Behind the “leader”!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Jacques_Garvey
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More Front and Back of Marcus Garvey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Ashwood_Garvey
There is a great deal of material on Marcus Garvey Just Google and Bing him!
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I really admire the work of Marcus Garvey but was total shocked to learn about his support for Walter Plecker and the Eugenics movement. I have not looked into it great detail but I guess he was hoping the the Eugenics thugs would give funding/political support for the Back to Africa movement. In turn Garvey promised to intern all the “tri-racial isolates” in concentration camps in Africa. As a Person of “trI-racial isolate” descent it kinda messed up my enjoyment of roots reggae for a day or two.
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Nice, you wrote a critical piece. Too often we try to write hagiography and ignore all the mistakes or problems these historical figures represent.
Garvey had a rather dismissive stance regarding elements of Afro-Jamaican religion, for example. As you mention here, he was no businessman, and meeting with the Klan, opposing racial mixing, and espousing a Black colonial movement into Africa was never adequately developed or even better than European colonialism in Africa. I’ve talked about this with folks from African countries, and it’s more complex than a ‘Back to Africa’ slogan. Unfortunately, every time I try to have critical discussions with folks about Garvey, people usually fall back on hagiography and prefer to not discuss his contradictions.
May I suggest a post about Amy Jacques Garvey, his talented wife whose writing, editing, and organizational skills helped keep the UNIA afloat? She was one of several women forgotten in mainstream history. Ula Yvette Taylor wrote a good biography of her if anyone’s interested.
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