Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey
Keystone View Company, restored by Creator:Adam Cuerden · Public domain · source
Name	Marcus Garvey
Caption	Garvey in 1924
Birth date	17 August 1887
Birth place	Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica
Death date	10 June 1940
Death place	London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Publisher, journalist, orator
Organization	Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Known for	Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, Garveyism
Spouse	Amy Ashwood (1919–1922), Amy Jacques (1922–1940)

Marcus Garvey. He was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, and orator who became a preeminent leader in the early 20th-century Black Nationalist and Pan-African movements. Founding the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), he championed economic self-sufficiency, racial pride, and the resettlement of the African diaspora to Africa. His philosophies, collectively known as Garveyism, inspired millions worldwide and left a profound legacy on subsequent civil rights and independence movements.

Early life and education

Born in Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica, he was the youngest of eleven children. His father, Malchus Garvey, was a stonemason, and his mother, Sarah Jane Richards, was a domestic worker and devout Methodist. He attended local elementary schools before becoming a printer's apprentice in Kingston at age fourteen. During his early career, he worked for the printing division of P. A. Benjamin Manufacturing Company and later became a foreman. His involvement in the 1907 Kingston printers' strike sparked his initial interest in political activism and labor organization. Travels to Central America and London exposed him to global racial inequalities, and he studied law and philosophy at Birkbeck College.

Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)

In 1914, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in Kingston. After moving to Harlem in 1916, the organization rapidly expanded across the United States, the Caribbean, Central America, and Africa. The UNIA's official newspaper, the Negro World, became a powerful voice for the movement, promoting racial pride and self-reliance. The association's first international convention, held at Madison Square Garden in 1920, attracted thousands of delegates and culminated in the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World. The UNIA established auxiliary groups like the Universal African Legion and the Black Cross Nurses, creating a sense of nationhood.

Black Star Line and business ventures

A cornerstone of his economic philosophy was the Black Star Line, a shipping company incorporated in 1919 intended to facilitate trade and transportation among the African diaspora and ultimately to Africa. The venture sold stock to thousands of supporters but was plagued by managerial inexperience, poor ship purchases, and alleged sabotage. Concurrently, the UNIA launched other enterprises, including the Negro Factories Corporation, which established grocery stores, restaurants, and a publishing house. Investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, led by a young J. Edgar Hoover, resulted in his 1923 conviction for mail fraud related to the Black Star Line's stock sales.

Political views and ideology

His ideology, Garveyism, synthesized elements of Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and economic separatism. He advocated for the complete political and economic self-determination of people of African descent, famously promoting the slogan "Africa for the Africans". He was a vocal critic of integrationist leaders like W. E. B. Du Bois of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and opposed movements such as the Harlem Renaissance for focusing on cultural assimilation. He cultivated relationships with figures like Ku Klux Klan leaders, viewing their open white supremacist stance as more honest than what he perceived as the duplicity of white liberals.

Later years and death

After serving a prison sentence, his sentence was commuted in 1927, and he was deported to Jamaica. He continued his political work, founding the People's Political Party and being elected to the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation. He later moved to London in 1935, where he remained active, speaking at events like the International African Service Bureau and publishing the periodical The Black Man. His health declined following a stroke, and he died in London on 10 June 1940. Initially buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, his remains were returned to Jamaica in 1964 and declared a National Hero of Jamaica.

Legacy and influence

His teachings profoundly influenced later movements and leaders, including Nation of Islam founders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, and independence leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. The Rastafari movement, which venerates Haile Selassie as a messianic figure, considers him a prophet. In the United States, his emphasis on black pride and economic empowerment provided a foundation for groups like the Black Power movement and Black Panther Party. He is commemorated with statues, buildings like the Marcus Garvey Library in London, and his image appears on Jamaican dollar currency. His birthday, 17 August, is celebrated as Marcus Garvey Day in several nations.

Category:1887 births Category:1940 deaths Category:Jamaican journalists Category:Pan-Africanists Category:Black nationalists