As World War One came to an end, disillusionment was beginning to take hold. African Americans were moving in large numbers out of the rural South and into the urban areas of both North and South. What Garvey saw was a shifting population and a diminishing hope in By the time Garvey arrived in America in 1916, Washington had died, but Garvey decided to travel around the country and observe African Americans and their struggle for equal rights. Washington and learn more about the situation of African Americans. Garvey did not make much headway in Jamaica and decided to visit America in order to meet Booker T. Initially he kept very much in line with Washington by encouraging his fellow Jamaicans of African descent to work hard, demonstrate good morals and a strong character, and not worry about politics as a tool to advance their cause.
Ideas and returned to Jamaica in 1914 to found the UNIA with the motto "One God! One Aim! One Destiny!" Although politically involved behind the scenes, Washington repeatedly claimed that African Americans would not benefit from political activism and started an industrial training school in Alabama that embodied his own philosophy of self-help. Washington believed African Americans needed to improve themselves first, showing whites in America that they deserved equal rights. Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery. However, he later remembered that the most influential experience of his stay in London was reading Booker T. Nationalism in both Ireland and Africa along with ideas such as race conservation undoubtedly had an impact on Garvey. He was also exposed to the ideas and writings of a group ofīlack colonial writers that came together in London around the African Times and Orient Review. During this time he paid close attention to the controversy between Ireland and England concerning Ireland's independence. Unsatisfied with his work, he travelled to London in 1912 and stayed in England for two years.
He became interested in politics and soon got involved in projects aimed at helping those on the bottom of society. Due to the economic hardship of his family, he left school at age fourteen and learned the printing and newspaper business. Looked to the literal fulfillment of Psalm 68:31: "Princes shall come out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God." His organization took as its motto "One God! One Aim! One Destiny!" and
JAMAICA PRIME MINISTER INDEOENBECE SPEECH FREE
Garvey himself claimed that his "Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World," along with the Bible, served as "the Holy Writ for our Negro Race." He stated very clearly that "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." For Garvey, it was no less than the will of God for black people to be free to determine their own destiny. However, his philosophy and organization had a rich religious component that he blended with the political and economic aspects. Seem odd to include an essay on him in a Web site on religion in America. Philosophy and organization had a rich religious component that he blended with the political and economic aspects.Ĭonsidering the strong political and economic black nationalism of Garvey's movement, it may Such as Father Divine's Universal Peace Mission Movement and the Nation of Islam drew members and philosophy from Garvey's organization, and the UNIA's appeal and influence wereįelt not only in America but in Canada, the Caribbean, and throughout Africa. Los Angeles, Garvey's message reached into small towns across the country as well. While chapters existed in the larger urban areas such as New York, Chicago, and Proclaiming a black nationalist "Back to Africa" message, Garvey and the UNIA established 700 branches in thirty-eight states by Represent the largest mass movement in African-American history.
Marcus Garvey and his organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Marcus Garvey presiding at the 1922 UNIA convention,Ĭourtesy The Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers Project, UCLA
Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association NHC Home TeacherServe Divining America 20th Century Essay: Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, The Twentieth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center