Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Garvey is often referred to as the "Black Moses" because he was a great leader to his people in a day when the struggle for freedom was a task.  He started the back-to-Africa movement urging black people to get on the road to rebuttal against the years of oppression and racism they had endured.  At age 27 years old, in 1914 he started the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica. This program did exactly what the name says. It turned into an international organization to help black people economically, to protect their culture, in self-help and all kinds of racial discrimination. In 1916 he made his first trip to the USA to preach his ideas. He was invited to come by the famous Booker T. Washington.  Sadly before Marcus could arrive in America Mr. Washington died.



When he arrived in D.C. he began to encourage Americans to join his "universal movement".  He lived in Harlem for many years stirring the minds of African-Americans.  At The time the Harlem Renaissance was at its height and his participation made it soar.  There was a strong black culture focus area of black intelligentsia, literature and art in Harlem, he felt this was the place to get the people moving, and he did.  



Garvey had many philosophies.  He was never afraid to share them.  He poems address the opression of blacks world-wide.  He had a vision of black power and saw his people were being severely overshadowed as the lowly people of the world. He lived at a time when most black people, throughout the diaspora were poor and disadvantaged. Black people didn’t feel good about themselves because they had no rights, expectations and nothing to look forward to. The white people who had power and money did not value African cultures. By the power of speech and persuasion he talked to his people and helped them understand their beauty and gave them hope. "He encouraged us to be self-reliant, and have pride in our history and ourselves. He inspired millions of people all over the world to press for better conditions and independence.



He used an idea called New Thought that came out of the Gilded Ages that focused on mental healing. Garvey used these teachings along with Christian Science ideas to guide Black people to change their attitude and conduct. On a tour in the Caribbean Garvey was quoted saying, "I have come to you in Jamaica, to give new thoughts to the eight hundred thousand black people in this land."



Another form of teaching Garvey really believed in was literature and poetry. To him poetry was a way to enter your own soul and think about the truth therein. The reader is therefore able to see the passion being projected by the writer. Garvey wrote many inspirational poems and gospels for the New Black theory inspiring his people to become strong and self sustainable. His writings also show his ability to communicate with an audience using oral tradition.



By 1919, his following had reached 2,000,000. That same year he established the shipping company, the Black Star Line and the Negro Factories Corporation. He also opened a chain of restaurants, grocery stores, laundries, a hotel, and a printing press.



The U.S. government began to notice Garvey’s activities. In 1919, the Bureau of Investigation started to monitor his actions. With the intent to eventually deport him, the bureau began to gather evidence of his actions that related to the Black Star Line.  Despite his following, Garvey’s ideology of racial purity and separatism failed to gain the support of black leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois. In addition, in 1922, the Black Star Line was dissolved. Garvey’s other businesses also failed. Garvey received an additional blow when he was indicted for mail fraud for the sale of Black Star Line stock. In 1923, he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1925, he began serving his prison sentence. After President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927, he was deported to Jamaica.



Many Reggae artists have celebrated Marcus in their music. Many songs directly use his name and make specific references to him. He is celebrated for his use of oral tradition and reggae remembers him through the same means of musical storytelling. As many people predicted after he had died, that his memory would live on and his voice would still be heard from the past, through black people in the present.



He died in obscurity in London, England in 1940.