us Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica in 1914 (Hine II 1187).
The Black Cross Nurses were so named because of Marcus Garvey's penchant for creating a Negro society that was the obverse of the surrounding white society (Fishel and Quarles 435). Thus, there was the Black Star Line in shipping as the obverse of the White Star Line, and there were the Black Cross Nurses as the obverse of the Red Cross.
Each division of the Black Cross Nurses elected a president, a head nurse, a secretary, and a treasurer (Hine II 1187). The international leader of the Black Cross Nurses was known as the Head Nurse (Hine II 1187). This leadership position was not designated as President, because Marcus Garvey, as President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association was also the President of the Black Cross Nurses. In August 1924, Marcus Garvey proposed than an office of Surgeon General be created within the Universal Negro Improvement Association organizational structure (Hill V 777). The decision was reached eventually, however, the create a surgeon general as an honorary position with no official powers over the Black Cross Nurses (Hill V 777).
Membership in the Black Cross Nurses was restricted to Negro females between the ages of 16 and 45 years old inclusive (Hine II 1187). Membership in the Black Cross Nurses also was restrictive in another way. This additional restriction derived from Marcus Garvey's "hating intensely things white and more intensely things near white" (Fishel and Quarles 435). Because of Garvey's attitude in this context, membership in the Black Cross Nurses and other elements of the Universal Negro Improvement Association were restricted to people who were referred to as "full blood Negroes" (Fishel and Quarles 435). No mulattos (people whose white blood proportion exceeded their Black blood proportion) were permitted to join the Black Cross Nurses, and no mixed blood pers...