community | 28 Diaspora Figures | Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey (1887 - 1940)
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml

Harsh realities

Marcus Garvey is best remembered as a pivotal figure in the struggle for racial equality throughout the world. 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 he was hailed as a prophet and redeemer by black people everywhere.

The youngest of 11 children, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in St Ann's Bay, Jamaica in 1887. Garvey inherited a keen interest in books from his father and made full use of the extensive family library.

At the age of 14 he left school and worked in a print-shop. 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 for future projects, Marcus Garvey left Jamaica to work as a timekeeper in Costa Rica. It was while working in Central America that he experienced the harsh realities of racial discrimination, amassing evidence that black people were victims of prejudice on a world-wide scale.

Garvey encouraged workers to form unions to negotiate for better terms and started newspapers in Costa 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 returning to Jamaica distressed by what he had seen in Central America, he began to lay foundations for the Universal Negro Improvement Association, to which he would later devote his life.

African pride

Marcus Garvey moved to England to live with his sister who was a governess. While in London, Garvey worked on a newspaper called The African and Orient Review. In 1914 he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, whose motto was 'One God, One Aim, One Destiny'. The UNIA set up the Negro Factories Corporation (NFC) to help promote economic self reliance.

Then 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 Garvey had become 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'.

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.

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 conference was a huge success and seven more were held in Garvey's lifetime.

In 1919 he attempted to set up a steamship company called the Black Star Line, hoping to trade goods from Africa and the West Indies back to the USA, but the plan failed.

Back 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 before dying in 1940.