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Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) |
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Marcus Garvey is best remembered as being a pivotal figure in the struggle for racial equality the world throughout. He founded the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) and championed the 'back to Africa' movement of the 1920s. His legacy makes him an inspirational figure for many civil rights leaders and politicians today, and in his lifetime was hailed as a prophet and redeemer by black people worldwide.
At the age of 14 he left school and worked in a print-shop, quickly becoming acquainted with the abysmal social conditions of the working classes. In 1908 he participated in Jamaica's first Printers' Union strike which came as a result of a major earthquake in Kingston a year earlier. Around this time he also published a small newspaper, called “The Watchman“. Seeking funding to finance his future projects, Marcus Garvey left Jamaica to work as a timekeeper in Costa Rica. It was while working in Central America that Marcus Garvey experienced the harsh realities of racial discrimination, amassing evidence that black people were victims of prejudice on a worldwide scale. Black workers had no banks which resulted in many of them being robbed of their savings, they had no pensions and were not compensated if they were injured on the job.
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After returning to Jamaica distressed by what he had seen in Central America he began to lay the foundations for the Universal Negro Improvement Association, to which he would later devote his life. In 1912 he left for England, to stay with his sister Indiana who was a governess in London. Here he continued with his education attending lectures at Birksbeck College and listening to debates in the House of Commons he also regularly visited speakers corner in Hyde Park.
He was now ready to pursue his most ambitious plans. The UNIA negotiated with the government of Liberia for land which would be made available to repatriate black people from the USA, Caribbean, South and Central America. At first the Liberian government agreed but soon changed its mind before any settlers could arrive. |
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In 1919 Marcus Garvey famously set up a steamship company called Black Star Line. The Black Star Line would trade goods from Africa and the West Indies back to the USA, providing employment and funding for Garvey's nation building ambitions. Unfortunately the company ran into problems and after three years was declared bankrupt. Hard times would yet again follow him and in 1922 the federal government indicted Garvey on mail fraud charges stemming from a host of legal entanglements. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment of which he served 2 and half.
In Jamaica, Marcus Garvey continued his work with the UNIA, dabbling in local politics with limited success. In 1935 the UNIA moved its headquarters to London and Marcus Garvey continued his work in relative obscurity for another 5 years before dying in 1940, in a cottage in West Kensington at the age of 53. |
The youngest of 11 children, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica in 1887. His father was a skilled mason and was widely read, holding a large private library. Garvey inherited this keen interest in books and made full use of his father's resources, reading often and endlessly.
Garvey encouraged the workers to form unions to negotiate for better terms and started newspapers in Coasta Rica and Panama complaining about poor conditions. His activities were soon brought to the attention of the Costa Rican government and he was promptly expelled from the country. After this he toured other countries in the region and saw that the problems in Panama and Costa Rica were not unique.
Whilst in London, Marcus Garvey befriended many African students and dock-workers, including an Egyptian journalist who published a newspaper called The African and Orient Review on which Marcus would eventually work. It was at this time that Garvey developed his knowledge of African history, he was particularly interested in the exploitation of black peoples by colonial powers and found great inspiration in reading the autobiography of the black American, Booker T Washington entitled "Up From Slavery", which encouraged black self-help. This led Garvey to found the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914, whose motto was 'One God, One Aim, One Destiny'. The UNIA set up the Negro Factories
Cooperation (NFC) to help promote economic self reliance. 
In 1916 he moved the UNIA
headquarters to Harlem in New York and set up branches in other countries with large black populations. By now Marcus Garvey had evolved into a formidable public speaker and his political agenda demanded radical reforms. Hundreds would listen to him speak, inspired by his speeches encouraging them to have pride in themselves as Africans. Garvey's message was clear, 'Up you mighty race, you can accomplish what you will'.
Under Marcus Garvey's leadership the UNIA did enjoy some success and in 1920 held a month long international conference in New York which was attended by delegates from all over the world. The meeting was called the First International Convention and issues such as education and segregation were discussed. The conference was a huge success and seven more were held in Garvey's lifetime.