Forgotten Men Of History- Marcus Garvey

Article by Rob Russell. Edited by Tom Hercock. Additional Research by Helen Midgley.

Normally when someone mentions the words African-American civil rights, the greatness of Martin Luther King is blurted straight back in your face. However, if you manage to look beyond the womanising man who loved to dream there are many other civil rights activists worthy of note, none less so than Marcus Garvey.

The man with a weakness for stupendous hats as opposed to fast women is often a neglected part of the civil rights fairytale. Garvey was born in Jamaica in August 1887, and lived a further 52 years until his death in June 1940. Garvey was in many ways the first civil rights activist to gain mass support and mobilise the black community.

He preached the concept of separatism, that of an entirely separate black society, furthermore he believed in Pan-Africanism. This amounted to all the native Africans and those of African descent unifying in a global African community. This in reality meant the African continent free of European involvement. Although, his plan to achieve such goals may have been somewhat warped, as he opted for a textbook Biblical approach as set down by Noah. That would effectively equate to leading the black population of America back to Africa in a rather large boat. What is often referred to as the ‘Back to Africa Movement’ was Garvey’s brainchild. Such a grand plan though can perhaps be explained by Garvey’s eccentric personality. However, such a plan did have a more practical side, with other aims including transporting goods to Africa, to boost its economy. To such an end Garvey established the Black Star Line – a shipping organisation. Sadly the venture was crippled by boats purchased in poor condition and high levels of corruption.

Yet Garvey’s early achievements need no such defence, in August 1914 he founded the first Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) towards his goal of separatism in Africa. By August 1920 his organisation could claim 4 million members.

Equally impressive is his establishment of the Negro World newspaper, which began printing in August 1918, and had a membership of over 2 million people by the following year.

Further publishing, this time his own works, also proved successful. The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey first published in 1923, remain influential to date. With its themes of liberation and black unity it prepared a solid platform from which subsequent and more revered campaigners would build upon. None more so than nationalist groups such as the infamous Black Power Movement, which Garvey so clearly laid the seeds of.

All in all, the tireless work of Marcus Garvey is that which should not be forgotten. Admittedly he may not have been involved in landmark cases such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, yet this does not merit his activism to be overlooked. In many ways he laid the foundations for future African-American protest, and for later and more venerated activists such as King and Malcolm X to take much of the credit, and international recognition. So next time you read through the history books, try to delve a little deeper, as beneath the surface many noteworthy and inspirational characters await!

*****

Marcus Garvey is the first national hero of Jamaica, an honour awarded to him posthumously in 1964.

Garvey’s message differed to later black civil rights campaigners which could explain his “forgotten” status: mostly, later civil rights activists sought to gain equal status and opportunities to whites (integration) rather than the ability to return to their ancestral homeland.

Garvey was a segregationist: believing the principle that “‘Europe for the Europeans’, ‘Asia for the Asiatics’ and ‘Africa for the Africans at home and abroad’”.

Garvey, though not a follower himself, is seen as a prophet in the Rastafarian religion because his political philosophies were the roots of the Rastafari movement.

← Back to Volume 1

← Back to Issue 2