The Marcus Garvey Movement

Marcus Garvey was born in 1887 in a small town in Jamaica, and his early years gave no hint of his later prominence and controversial ideas. His search for a career sent him to Central America, England, and, in 1916, the United States. In the course of this trip he discovered that his own frustrated ambitions were not his alone, but were part of the problem facing the entire African race. He conceived the idea that these problems could be solved by means of Pan-African politics, and accordingly founded the UNIA in Jamaica. It was extended to other West Indies islands and to Africa, but became strongest in the U.S.

In the years during and after the First World War, Marcus Garvey led the largest international movement of African-related people in the twentieth century. Garvey and other UNIA leaders were part of an international elite of African-Americans who applauded the triumph of capitalism, although they denounced racial discrimination, which denied people like themselves places of prestige in the capitalist system. Their response to exclusion from the mainstream Western economic world was to construct African-American institutions modeled on those of white elites. From 1919-19

. . .
ult, most of his personal papers were destroyed in the London blitz. A small UNIA survives today. Many diverse African-American leaders have testified to GarveyÆs continuing influence. He has been virtually canonized by the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica, along with Emperor Haile Selassie, whom Garvey detested. However, there is little consensus on the degree of importance or even the exact nature of his legacy, although all seem to agree that he was among the first to raise the level of race consciousness in the direction of what would be called ôBlack prideö in the 1960s and 1970s. The rise of African-American militancy in the 1960s rekindled the debates of the Garvey movement despite the relative lack of historical materials. Theodore Vincent and Tony Martin, sympathizers with the ôBlack Nationalismö of the 1960s took up GarveyÆs cause, and proceeded to catalog the UNIAÆs businesses, newspapers, political organization, and protest activities in the United States. Both asserted that Garvey and the UNIA were in the vanguard of African-American and Pan-Africa politics in the 1920s. Stein agrees with their conclusion that Garvey addressed and attempted to solve the real economic, political, and social problem of African-Ame
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Star, West Africa, University Press, President Coolidge, Garvey UNIA, Selassie Garvey, Marcus Garvey, African-American Pan-Africa, America England, Tony Martin, black star, star line, black star line, marcus garvey, garvey movement, twentieth century, class modern society, modern society, class modern, garvey race, baton rouge louisiana, race class, society baton rouge, modern society baton, world marcus,
Approximate Word count = 1513
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

More Essays on The Marcus Garvey Movement