Marcus Garvey http://www.marcusgarveylibrary.org.uk/

MARCUS MOSIAH GARVEY

    Marcus Mosiah was born in St. Ann's Bay, on the northern coast of Jamaica on August 17th, 1887. A short, stocky, largely self-educated but supremely confident black man, Garvey spent most of his early years as a printer. He established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), on August 1st, 1914.  The motto became: "One God, One Aim, One Destiny." With the need for financial funding and the desire to meet other black leaders, Marcus set his eyes on America.   Garvey arrived in Harlem on March 23rd, 1916. He soon established a UNIA branch in the states. At its peak, the UNIA boasted a membership of over 4 million strong. The Black Star Line was one of Garvey's goals. Here was an enterprise belonging to blacks, operated by and for them, that gave even the poorest black the chance to become a stockholder in a big business enterprise. This was unheard of during these times, yet Garvey, always a visionary, pushed ahead. The Black Star Line was established as a commercial venture, and Garvey did not intend, as his critics sometimes claimed, that the Line would merely be a vehicle for the transportation of all Negroes back to their African homeland. With such a large following and such ambitious ventures, Marcus soon became a threat to other more well established "black" leaders. Garvey was deemed a threat to the 'system', he was soon convicted on trumped up mail fraud. After serving a brief tenure in prison he was deported back to Jamaica in early December 1927. He spent his last years traveling the Caribbean and Europe, always preaching about black pride. He died in England on June 10th 1940...he was only 53.

http://www.rastaites.com/garvey.html

http://www.isop.ucla.edu/mgpp/sound.htm

(sound bites from Garvey)

Garvey, Marcus, 1887–1940, American proponent of black nationalism, b. Jamaica. At the age of 14, Garvey went to work as a printer's apprentice. After leading (1907) an unsuccessful printers' strike in Jamaica, he edited several newspapers in Costa Rica and Panama. During a period in London he became interested in African history and black nationalism. His concern for the problems of blacks led him to found (1914) the Universal Negro Improvement Association and in 1916 he moved to New York City and opened a branch in Harlem. The UNIA was an organization designed “to promote the spirit of race pride.” Broadly, its goals were to foster worldwide unity among all blacks and to establish the greatness of the African heritage. Garvey addressed himself to the lowest classes of blacks and rejected any notion of integration. Convinced that blacks could not secure their rights in countries where they were a minority race, he urged a “back to Africa” movement. In Africa, an autonomous black state could be established, possessing its own culture and civilization, free from the domination of whites. Garvey was the most influential black leader of the early 1920s. His brilliant oratory and his newspaper, Negro World, brought him millions of followers. His importance declined, however, when his misuse of funds intended to establish a steamship company, the Black Star Line, resulted in a mail fraud conviction. He entered jail in 1925 and was deported to Jamaica two years later. From this time on his influence decreased, and he died in relative obscurity.

Poetry of Garvey (+ photo of him)          http://www.boomshaka.com/garvey.html#world