African-American history in the United States has many notable events which forever transformed the society of the country. One of the most important historical moments was the rise of the early Black civil rights movement at the beginning of the 20th century. Marcus Garvey is the man who became a major actor during the period and managed to inspire millions of Africans around the world with his idea of Pan-Africanism.
Marcus Garvey is a highly important figure in the long Black Freedom Struggle in the United States. Despite the fact that Garvey was born in Jamaica, later in his life, he moved to Harlem in New York, where he started his prolific career as a public speaker.1. The key contribution of Marcus Garvey was that he developed a new philosophy of Pan-Africanism which implied creating an international community of all black people on the planet. Additionally, his core idea was for all individuals of African descent to become independent from the influence of the white people and become self-sufficient. Garvey adhered to the notion that Africa had to become a place of which all Africans must be proud and to which they need to return. Essentially, Garvey promoted the idea that Black people deserved to be free from oppression, independent, and successful.
As mentioned earlier, Marcus Garvey was born in Jamaica, and due to the fact that he was black and from a poor family, he belonged to the lowest class in society. At the same time, one of the main events which forever changed the life of Garvey was that he became an apprentice for a printer and learned how to read, write, and speak eloquently. Another important event in Garvey’s life was his work in London, where he became familiar with the ideas of Booker T. Washington, who promoted the need for independence and self-sufficiency among African-Americans. Garvey took the ideas of Booker T. Washington and adjusted them to create his own philosophy of Pan-Africanism.
During the 1920s, Garvey faced the most successful and, at the same time, challenging period of his life. First of all, Garvey created Black Star Line, a shipping company which he intended to use for the purpose of establishing trade channels between Africa and the United States. Additionally, Garvey wanted to use Black Star Line to help African-Americans to repatriate to Liberia, the country which he wanted to turn into a new symbol of Black empowerment. As a result of his initiatives, Garvey became extremely popular among black people and was even appointed the Provisional President of Africa by his supporters. Yet, Garvey’s actions also received criticism, especially from W.E.B. Dubois, who considered Garvey to be a fraudster. Garvey lost a major share of his supporters after Black Star Line’s bankruptcy and his attempts to negotiate with Ku Klux Klan.
Despite the fact that Garvey’s vision was not successful, his ideas continued to inspire many other people. For instance, Bob Marley even used the words from one of Marcus Garvey’s speeches in one of his songs.2. Garvey also played a considerable role in the idea of Black empowerment and to this day is praised as one of the major historical leaders of African-Americans.
Marcus Garvey was a considerable historical figure at the beginning of the 20th century who popularized the concept of Pan-Africanism. Although Garvey was born in Jamaica, he managed to build a successful career as a public speaker and activist in the United States. Garvey was certain that the only way for Africans of the world to reach success was to strive for independence and self-sufficiency in Africa.
Reference
Abdelfatah, Rund, Arablouei, Ramtin, Arablouei, Ramtin, Kaplan-levenson, Laine, Caine, Julie, Wu, Lawrence, Devarajan, Kumari, Yvellez, Victor, Khurana, Mansee, and Casey Miner. 2022. “Marcus Garvey: Pan-Africanist (2021).” NPR.
Footnotes
- Rund Abdelfatah, et al. 2022. “Marcus Garvey: Pan-Africanist (2021).” NPR.
- Rund Abdelfatah, et al. 2022. “Marcus Garvey: Pan-Africanist (2021).” NPR.