Shua McLean English 9 Mr.

Rafferty 5/31/11 Marcus Garvey All life must be a useful plan, that calls for daily, serious work the work that wrings the best from man - The work that cowards often shrink. The America of 1917, nearly half a decade after Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation, was still hardly the ideal place to be a black man or woman. The insuppressible sound of Disenfranchisement and Jim Crow segregation was one an African American could not muffle no matter how high they managed to climb up the social ladder. Even on the unfathomable continent fourth and fifth generation blacks were led to call home, two mere nations, Ethiopia and Liberia, still clutched to their sovereignty. The emotions of this downtrodden race of Americans were eager for the message of a leader such as Garvey, a young Jamaican journalist experiencing life anew in Britain. Based on the numerous and lasting effects of his influence on the world, Marcus Garvey indisputably earns a place among the most vital of contributors to the progression of African-Americans in the last century. Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was born in Saint Anns Bay, Jamaica in August 17, 1887 to a
family of 11 siblings. His formal education ended after reaching the sixth standard in the British education system. However, he remained an avid reader and culturally aware as a result of the apprenticeship which had taken him on a tour of Central America. In 1912, Garvey left for London where he studied at Birkbeck College and gained much of the Western exposure he would value and

apply in his own dreams of Africa. Two years later, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League; an organization of intellectuals concerned with

the furtherance of black social and economic interests at large; was born. Through this instrument, Garvey achieved the vast majority of the successes hes remembered for today. As the 19th century came to a close, the fight for true equality seemed to have ground to a halt. As much hope as champions for integration like fellow activist,W.E.B DuBois had, there seemed to be an equally feverish hope to deny it. Black Nationalist thought from this point on was grounded in the belief that law can only punish bad behavior; a futile response if the quality of the man remains unchanging. As Garvey began to expound his beliefs, the notions of separatism and nationhood came to light. He would be the first black leader to unite behind a call for those of African ancestry to return to Africa and develop the land to its full potential. However, he was outthought by nearly a century as the governments establishment of Liberia in 1822 was exclusively for this purpose. He hoped such repatriation would spur what sociology today would dub a brain gain: a revitalization of society as a stream of skilled and knowledgeable immigrants settled in the nation. While the right to financial and political selfdetermination stood denied in their former homes, they could ensure a better life for them collectively as a different reconstruction occurred in Africa. Conversely, among modern Africans, he could be looked at with contempt. His outlook on the Africans themselves can be described as strangely Eurocentric and similar to the colonial mindset that the Europeans had gone in with. Having never settled outside of America or Britain and its commonwealth, he was ignorant of the many cultures and conflicts which defined Africa the way it did. "We should again remember that Marcus Garvey and his band of men are woefully ignorant of the conditions of life in West Africa and perhaps they think that we have no Native Government and no native Chiefs worth their while. It is our duty to make Marcus Garvey know that before he can even be recognized as a leader of men our native Kings and Chiefs would like to know his antecedents

and to what tribe he belongs and whether he is a descendant from any Royal house and what claim has he to be recognized a ruling power. (Robert A. Hill, The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers) Though many did not believe his UNIA-ACL membership claim of six million, he garnered widespread popular sympathy. (Lorenzo 1033) If theres any truth to this claim, the organization easily claims the title of largest Pan-African movement ever. Many Western critics joked that such a unity among blacks was doomed. As Garvey went out on the limb of forming the Black Star Line, they were determined to ensure it. European heavy-handedness in Liberia made certain that the industrial base he intended to establish was hindered. The British representatives in Liberia claimed that such a plot might lead native Africans to insurrection against the rule of the white man. A bevy of red tape surrounded shipping to the colonies. This setback was worsened by Garveys own admitted business mistakes. The five dollar stock which UNIA members contributed to the ordeal was invested in old poor ships in need of high maintenance. Soon, the business, forced into bankruptcy, had ground to a halt. In response to the great humor the media took in this fall from grace, Garvey stated, We succeeded in the sense of our desire for success. As with many people that are credited with fathering a movement, much of their fame rises from those whom they were able to inspire. After both world wars, wherein colonized Africans and African Americans alike were called on to fill the ranks of both sides armies, African nationalism was at a fever pitch. Algerians under France were willing and ready to fight for self-rule at whatever cost and eventually, it would no longer be denied to them. In the U.S, the people with whom Garveys message still resonated with most belonged to a group of activists that some in the media considered militant. Garveys philosophy had won the heart of

Malcolm Xs father, and it had weighed heavily on him also. Stokely Carmichael, and Louis Farrakhan, two prominent leaders of the same initiative also held Garvey in great reverence. Such separatism was a concept Martin Luther King fought extensively against. King remained fundamentally opposed to black nationalists rejection of American society as irreparably unjust and to later black nationalists abandonment of nonviolence. Because of their view that American society is so hopelessly corrupt and enmeshed in evil that there is no possibility of salvation from within, King felt black nationalist movements rejected the one thing that keeps the fire of revolutions burning: the ever-present flame of hope. (The Martin Luther King, Jr Research and Education Institute , Black Nationalism) Marcus Garveys legacy is rich but for the most buried substantially under the sands of time. In Jamaica, he was given the Order of National Hero and even to this day, he appears on certain pieces of currency. The Rastafarian Movement is a pseudo religious movement which couples Christian elements with Garveyism. The movement also holds deep reverence for recently deposed Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie. In Late 1930, he penned his first few words in his editorial The Blackman, regarding the man. We do hope that Ras Tafari will live long to carry
out his wonderful intentions. From what we have heard and what we do know, he is ready and willing to extend the hand of invitation to any Negro who desires to settle in his kingdom. (Marcus Garvey and

the Early Rastafarians: Continuity and Discontinuity, Rupert Lewis) A few of its mansions (variations) treat Garvey as a prophet. His solution to the problem Africas diaspora faced surely came from the right place, but it was adapters of his philosophy which truly had the impact he couldnt while living.

Shua McLean English 9 Mr. Rafferty 6/1/11 Black Nationalism." King Institute Home. Web. 01 June 2011. <http://mlkkpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_black_nationalism/>. Garvey, Marcus, and Amy Jacques Garvey. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, Or, Africa for the Africans;. New York: A.M. Kelley, 1967. Print. Grant, Colin. Negro with a Hat: the Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. "Marcus Garvey Is a Man That Lived a Life with a Goal Many Thought Was Impossible, but His Ideals Were Many Peoples Dream." The University of Vermont. Web. 01 June 2011. <http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/dreadlibrary/parmett.html>. Martin, Tony. Literary Garveyism: Garvey, Black Arts, and the Harlem Renaissance. Dover, MA: Majority, 1983. Print Marcus Garvey and the Early Rastafarians." Marcus Garvey and the Early Rastafarians: Continuity and Discontinuity. Web. 07 June 2011.
http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/rastafari/garvey/rupert.html

Garvey, Marcus, and Robert A. Hill. Africa for the Africans: 1923 - 1945. Berkeley [u.a.: Univ. of California, 2006. Print.