A Comparison of W.E.B.

DuBois and Marcus Garvey

by Ryan Cofrancesco

W. E. B. Du Bouis and Marcus Garvey approached the civil rights movement of their time with
almost perfectly opposing strategies. W. E. B. Du Bois wanted black people to be accepted into
American society and he believed that the intellectual elite of the black community should lead
them in this direction. Marcus Garvey tried to lead the masses of black people towards black purity
of race and culture through black nationalism.
Du Bois claimed that black Americans were made up of two parts - the black part and the
American part. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, he wrote, "One ever feels his two-ness - an
American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unrecoiled strivings, two warring ideas in one
dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder" (White 52). But, "In this
merging he wishes neither of the old selves to be lost" (White 52). This internal dichotomy is
shown often in Du Bois' writings. He was both an integrationist and an advocate of a form of
voluntary segregation. He thought that the Negro race "could only advance through its own self
help and the assistance by whites of good will" (White 53). He thought that the "Talented Tenth,"
the intellectual elite of the black community, should inspire and lead their people while seeking aid
and stimulation from white people. But, even though he thought that it was good to seek this aid
from white people he also made "a call for the black community to maintain a seperate racial
identity" (White 54). He was a passionate proponent of black pride and thought that black
Americans held gifts to humanity, in the form of art, music, humor, and folk tales that had yet to be
appreciated.
Whereas Du Bois was an intellectual that depended on the leadership of the Talented Tenth and
the aid of white people, Marcus Garvey was a charismatic leader of masses who advocated
complete racial purity and seperatism. "The liberation of Africa from European colonial rule, and
the repatriation there of the 'best' Afro-Americans...appear as constant - although not always clearly
expressed - themes in Garvey's writings and speeches" (White 93). The most important part of
Garveyism, the philsophy that grew out of his writings and speeches, was the return of black
Americans to Africa. This idea, however, often had a figurative or spiritual meaning.
Garveyism emphasized the importance of religion through the creation of the African Orthodox
Church and Garvey's claims that, "Since white people have seen their own God through white
spectacles, we have now started to see our God through our own spectacles" (White 92). Therefore,
black people should visualize a black God and black Christ.
Garvey advocated economic self determination for black people. His "most spectacular
undertaking" was the creation of an all-Negro steamship company. Although this project is often
reputed to have been intended to be a way to transport black people to Africa to resettle, it was
actually intended as a profitable commercial operation. It was meant to create justifiable racial
pride by demonstrating black commercial and nautical skill.
Garvey had such strong seperatist and purity sentiments that he made some alliances with the
Klu Klux Klan. As he put it, "Whilst the Klu Klux Klan desires to make America absolutely a white
man's country, the UNIA desires to make Africa absolutely a black man's country" (White 88). The
UNIA, which stood for Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and Affrican
Comunities League, was an organization headed by Garvey. The Negro World, a weekly
propaganda newspaper published by Garvey, printed an eight point platform of the UNIA. All of
the eight points had to do with black pride, race conciousness, world conciousness, and
independence.
Du Bois and Garvey not only strongly disagreed with one another, but also disliked each other.
They often cruelly made fun of the one another's physical appearence. Du Bois, however, did
concede commendations for Garvey's eloquence and oration. According to John White, "There is
no doubt that Garvey, more than any previous leader, stimulated racial pride and confidence among
black Americans" (White 103). But, to Du Bois, Garvey's advocacy of racial seperation was
inexcusable. Despite Du Bois' call for economic independence, he still felt that there should be
positive relations between blacks and whites and he found Garvey's racial chauvinism
unacceptable.

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WORKS CITED

White, John. Black Leadership in America. Longman: New York, 1985.