Marcus Garvey
17 August 1887 - 10 June 1940
“The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness”
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. ONH
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. ONH was a Jamaican-born political activist, black nationalist, pan-Africanist, publisher, journalist, and orator. Garvey was the leader of the Pan-Africanism movement, which sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide.
Image taken from Britannica
He founded the Universal Association for the Advancement of Negroes and the African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, commonly known as UNIA). UNIA was a group of black nationalists who argued for black people to have "separate equal" status. Garvey's advocacy for pan-Africanism sparked the Garveyism movement, which influenced many people throughout the world.
Early life
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica on 17 August 1887.
Marcus Garvey Sr. was a stonemason, and his mother, Sarah Jane Richards, worked as a household servant. Garvey was the eldest of eleven children, but only he and one other sibling reached adulthood. Garvey attended a local church school until the age of 14, but his parents were unable to afford him additional education. He left school and St. Ann's Bay at the age of 14 and moved to Kingston, Jamaica's capital, where he worked as an apprentice in a print shop. Garvey's membership in the Kingston labor union for print tradesmen would prepare him for a life of activism.
Garvey visited relatives in Central American countries such as Costa Rica and Panama between 1910 and 1912. He returned to Jamaica briefly in 1912 before moving to London to attend Birkbeck College. Garvey studied law and philosophy at Birkbeck and worked for a pan-Africanism publication, the African Times and Orient Review. Additionally, he participated in debates at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park. Garvey was profoundly influenced by his exposure to the ideas and writings of a group of black colonial writers, as well as African and Irish nationalism. Garvey returned to Jamaica in July 1914 after two years in England.
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Garvey and his friends founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League shortly after their return to Jamaica (otherwise known as UNIA). UNIA was the largest mass movement in African American history, with a message of "return to Africa" from black nationalists. The organization portrayed itself as a charitable club rather than a political organization in Kingston, assisting the poor and establishing a training college modeled after the Tuskegee Institute founded by African American leader Booker T Washington. Garvey emigrated to the United States from Jamaica in 1916 with the intention of lecturing and establishing branches of UNIA, but the organization failed to gain traction in Jamaica. He eventually settled in New York City, where he delivered his first sermon at the illustrious St. Mark's Church. The "Declaration of the Rights of the World's Negro Peoples" was ratified at the 1920 UNIA convention. Garvey claimed that the declaration served as "the Holy Writ for our Negro Race" alongside the Bible.
Additionally, he stated, "as we pray to Almighty God to save us through his Holy Words, so shall we, with confidence in ourselves, follow the sentiment of the Declaration of rights and carve our way to liberty." UNIA's motto was "One God! One Aim! One Destiny!" and it sought to fulfill Psalm 68:31: "Princes shall come out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God." This convinced a large number of people, particularly Rastafari Jamaicans, that Emperor Haile Selassie was the resurrected Messiah.
By 1919, UNIA had established a significant presence in the United States, with a following of approximately 2 million people and 700 branches in 38 states, demonstrating that Garvey's message was widely spread, from large cities to small towns..
Negro World and Black Star Line
Garvey founded Negro World in 1918, and by 1920, it had a circulation of between 50 000 and 200 000. The newspaper chronicled the exploits of heroes of the race and the splendors of African culture.
By 1919, Garvey and his associates had established the UNIA-sponsored Black Star Line (BSL) shipping company. The name was inspired by the White Star Line, a British steamship company. Garvey intended for the BSL to promote economic independence and self-determination for black people, particularly those who are exploited in the global economy. The company was an effective tool for recruiting personnel for UNIA. However, it faced numerous critics and lasted only until 1923. Garvey and his associates lacked the experience and education necessary to manage a steamship company. Additionally, the newly formed Bureau of Investigation (later the FBI) used the first black agent to infiltrate UNIA in order to obtain the evidence necessary to bring down Garvey's movement.
Investigation of Garvey
Garvey's black nationalism and outspoken activism made him a target for the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), particularly J. Edgar Hoover. Garvey was being investigated for mail fraud in connection with a BSL advertisement that featured a photograph of a ship the BSL did not own. Hoover referred to Garvey as a "notorious negro agitator" and was responsible for hiring the agent to infiltrate UNIA. Garvey made numerous enemies among established black leaders such as W.E.B Du Bois, primarily for agreeing to meet with the Ku Klux Klan's Grand Wizard (KKK). Given his desire to separate African Americans, he believed he and the KKK held similar views on segregation.
Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, which he began serving in 1925 in an Atlanta prison. Garvey was released after two years and deported as an undesirable alien. A year later, he founded the People's Political Party in Jamaica, establishing the country's first modern political organization.
Garvey moved to London in 1935, leaving his wife and children behind in Jamaica. He was unable to resurrect the movement he began many years ago and spent the remainder of his years in virtual obscurity. Marcus Garvey passed away on 10 June 1940 as a result of complications caused by two strokes.
His philosophy is perhaps best exemplified in the following quote:
“We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honour Black men and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial history ... I am the equal of any white man; I want you to feel the same way.”
References
BBC - History - Marcus Garvey (2021). Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Foster, H. (2014) Black Star Line (1919-1923), Blackpast.org. Available at: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-star-line-1919-1923/ (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, The Twentieth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center (2021). Available at: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/garvey.htm (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Marcus Garvey (2021). Available at: https://www.biography.com/activist/marcus- garvey (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Marcus Garvey (2021). Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/black- history/marcus-garvey (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Marcus Garvey | Biography, Beliefs, & Facts (2021). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Garvey (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
Marcus Garvey Timeline | American Experience | PBS (2021). Available at: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garvey-timeline/ (Accessed: 6 February 2021).
(2021) Shoppeblack.us. Available at: https://shoppeblack.us/2019/08/marcus- garvey-quotes/ (Accessed: 2 February 2021).
