MARCUS GARVEY WAS A GREAT AFRICAN LEADER

Marcus Moziah Garvey (1887 – 1940

Marcus Garvey migrated to the United States from his native Jamaica at the age of 29. By 1916 he had become the idol of the black masses in America, the Caribbean and Latin America, where under his leadership branches of the "Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) were formed. A dynamic orator and fluent writer, Garvey was also a master of pageantry. But his charisma alone cannot explain the remarkable response he obtained from black America. The attraction can be found in his policies, for Marcus Garvey was one of the first black racial nationalists. Unlike the communist black power movements, which have been used to bring down the white man, Garvey’s idea was merely to improve the conditions and ability of his fellow blacks.

Like many black leaders Marcus Garvey was first attracted to left-wing movements. He worked in close alliance with communists and socialists in the "Afro-American Liberty League". Garvey did not confine his interest to social and economic problems, he also understood and gave expression to the spiritual needs of American blacks in their striving for racial recognition. After being away from their homeland for many years, they had to a great extent lost their culture and identity. Garvey tried to engender a feeling of pride in their origins and to give the black community racial self respect.

At a magnificent UNIA conference in New York in 1920, the delegates unanimously appointed themselves representatives of Africa, even though there was not one genuine African name among the 122 signatories to the declaration. When the League of Nations was discussing the future of Germany’s African colonies after the First-World-War, Garvey proposed that instead of the colonies being granted self-government, the mandate to govern them should be granted to the UNIA.

Garvey’s racialist, separationist, ideas were finally developed when he wrote in 1923, "Hitherto the other negro movements (with the exception of Booker T. Washington) sought to teach the negro to aspire to social equality with whites, meaning thereby the right to inter-marry and fraternise in every social way. Still some negro organisations continue to preach this race-destroying doctrine, added to a programme of political agitation and aggression.".... "The time is opportune to regulate the relationship between both races. Let the negro have a country of his own. Help him to return to his original home, Africa, and there give him the opportunity to climb from the lowest to the highest positions in a state of his own."... "We of the UNIA cede to the white man the right to do as he pleases in his own country, and that is why we believe in not making any trouble when he says that "America is a white man’s country."

In 1922 Garvey paid a visit to the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia. The white racialists were natural allies for Garvey. Their open white racialism helped to develop the race consciousness of American blacks in a positive way and to stimulate interest in the UNIA-sponsored movement for repatriation to Africa.

In a message dated October 28th 1925, Garvey introduced a speaker from the Anglo Saxon Clubs of America (the Northern KKK counterpart) whom he had invited to speak at Liberty Hall: "Mr Powell and his organisation sympathize with us and we sympathize with them. I feel and believe that we should work together for the purpose of bringing about the ideal of purification and the unbridled freedom of self-development and self expression."

Garvey not only rejected the idea of political alliance with white leftists, but preferred an understanding with white employers. However, the US big business establishment were not keen on allowing Garvey to propagate this racialist ideal. In 1925 he was arrested on a trumped-up charge and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Garvey's reaction was to move even further to the right. He proclaimed that "Capitalism" is necessary for the progress of the world... but there should be a limit to the corporate use or control of it. All control, use and investment of money should be the prerogative of the State with the concurrent authority of the people". After his prison term Garvey was deported to Jamaica, where he endeavored to resurrect the UNIA.

Deprived of his usual source of funds, Garvey did not manage to make much impact, although he was able to produce a newspaper, The Blackman, and he also entered local municipal politics. The Blackman became a daily paper and was superseded by The New Jamaican in 1932. By 1934 his career was faltering. His presses were seized by creditors which caused Garvey a severe set-back. Nevertheless he undertook several speaking tours in Canada and South America. It was for Garvey a heroic last stand. His fortunes continued to decline, his magazine folded yet again, and his health was ailing. His family returned to Jamaica, and Garvey died alone in London on June 10th 1940. See Editor's comments below.

Garvey held the key to Black success and could have brought an end to racial strife. Logic would indicate that Garvey's sensible and peaceful ideas would win the battle for minds. For the past hundred years or more, those with money have controlled the thinking of the masses. As a result self-reliance, identity, initiative, logic, and self-worth have played a lesser part in the muddled thinking of the majority. Degeneracy caused by multi-racialism and the irreligious system of financial usury are two factors which hold the masses in blind obedience to their accursed masters. It is a sad fact that the followers of nationalist leaders put insufficient effort into the movement themselves. The effect of this is when the leader dies the movement comes to an end. We should support true nationalists in every country in order to overcome our common foe, the Internationalists.

Since writing this piece in 2003 events in Africa have become considerably worse due to interference from US big business and the American based World Government people. The poverty, degradation and starvation these groups have caused are being used as a bargaining tool to asset strip Black Africa, and take charge of all commerce and the rest of the valuable resources they didn't already have. This situation was only made possible by the educated and most capable Africans leaving their homelands in droves, and going to America and Europe. Marcus Garvey could see the effect of mass-emigration long before many others; this is what made him a truly great man.

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Last updated 20th. Nov 2017

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