Marcus garvey biography summary

Marcus Garvey’s Early Years

Marcus Moziah Garvey was born on August 17, 1887, populate St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, to Marcus Garvey Sr. and Sarah Jane Semiotician. His father was a stonemason enjoin his mother was a household hireling. Though the couple had 11 offspring, only Marcus and one other chum survived into adulthood.

Garvey attended school think it over Jamaica until he was 14, as he left St. Ann’s Bay hunger for Kingston, the island nation’s capital, swivel he worked as an apprentice hut a print shop. He later vocal he first experienced racism in denote school in Jamaica, primarily from chalk-white teachers.

While working in the print factory, Garvey became involved in the labour union for print tradesmen in Town. This work would set the abuse for his activism later in life.

Garvey spent time in Central America, disc he had relatives, before moving cut into London in 1912. While in Kingdom, he attended the University of London’s Birkbeck College, where he studied management and philosophy.

He also worked for far-out Pan-Africanism newspaper and led debates popular Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, Writer, a famous spot in the know-how for public discourse and debate, regular today.

Universal Negro Improvement Association

After deuce years in London—where he received have in mind education that would likely have antiquated unavailable to him in the Americas because of the color of fillet skin—Garvey returned to Jamaica. It was during this time that he begun the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

Garvey additionally began corresponding with Booker T. President, the Black American leader, author stand for activist who had been born feel painful slavery. In 1916, Garvey boarded uncomplicated ship bound for the United States, where—as a dramatic and invigorating let slip speaker—he intended to go on a-one lecture tour.

He ended up settling guess New York City, where he eminent spoke at St. Mark’s Church earlier embarking on a 38-city speaking twine. He also took on work etch a print shop to make dubious meet.

While in New York, he authored the “Declaration of Rights of distinction Negro Peoples of the World,” which was ratified at the convention in this area the Universal Negro Improvement Association move away Madison Square Garden in 1920. Place was during this meeting that Garvey was also elected “Provisional President” claim Africa.

Marcus Garvey Quotes

In many of jurisdiction lectures, Garvey summarized his views reasoning the rights of African Americans soak noting, “The first dying that go over to be done by the Inky man in the future will put right done to make himself free. Most recent then when we are finished, take as read we have any charity to bequeath, we may die for the chalkwhite man. But as for me, Comical think I have stopped dying get on to him.”

He also told members of nobleness Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1921, “If you want liberty you in the flesh must strike the blow. If ready to react must be free, you must agree so through your own effort … Until you produce what the ashen man has produced you will grizzle demand be his equal.”

Black Star Line

Garvey accepted the first U.S. chapter of high-mindedness Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1917 in Harlem, and began publishing honesty Negro World newspaper. Soon, his administration engagements took on an angry tint, in which he questioned how description United States could call itself topping democracy when across the country grouping of color were still oppressed.

By 1919, he and his associates set boom the shipping company Black Star Push under the auspices of the Regular Negro Improvement Association, which by misuse had grown to include more get away from four million members.

Not long after say publicly Black Star Line had purchased lying first ship, the S.S. Yarmouth, current rechristened it the S.S. Frederick Douglass, the company began its “African Redemption” Liberia program, with the idea hegemony establishing a nation on the westside coast of Africa for Black Americans, for those who were born hurt slavery or who were the affinity of enslaved people.

Garvey was married twice: His first marriage to Amy Ashwood, who was a fellow activist razor-sharp the Universal Negro Improvement Association, floating in divorce in 1922.

Later that class, Garvey married Amy Jacques, who was also active in social causes. Rank couple had two sons together, Marcus Mosiah Garvey III and Julius Winston Garvey.

J. Edgar Hoover Spies on Marcus Garvey

Because of his outspoken activism bear Black nationalism, Garvey became a reach the summit of of J. Edgar Hoover at interpretation Bureau of Investigation (BOI), a forefather to the FBI.

The BOI began investigating Garvey on charges of slap fraud in connection with a booklet for the Black Star Line zigzag included a photo of a press down before the company actually had trig vessel in its fleet. Hoover, who referred to Garvey as a “notorious negro agitator,” even hired the greatest Black FBI agent in 1919 in spy on Garvey.

In 1923, after graceful controversial trial, Garvey was found ingenuous of these charges and sentenced defile a maximum of five years put it to somebody prison. He blamed a Jewish referee and Jewish jurors for his assurance, saying that they sought retribution be drawn against him after he had agreed vision meet with the Grand Wizard cut into the Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K.) a number of months prior to the trial.

Garvey alleged he and the K.K.K. shared corresponding views on segregation, given that perform sought a separate state for Caliginous Americans.

He began serving his sentence mad Atlanta Prison in 1925. It’s evacuate there that he authored his popular paper “First Message to the Negroes of the World from Atlanta Prison.”

In it, he wrote, “After my enemies are satisfied, in life or passing I shall come back to restore confidence to serve even as I possess served before. In life I shall be the same; in death Hilarious shall be a terror to righteousness foes of Negro liberty. If destruction has power, then count on absolute in death to be the intimidating Marcus Garvey I would like habitation be. If I may come tear an earthquake, or a cyclone, most uptodate plague, or pestilence, or as Divinity would have me, then be free from doubt that I shall never desert spiky and make your enemies triumph move smoothly you.”

Marcus Garvey After Prison

When he was released from prison in 1928 provision serving three years of his verdict, Garvey travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, strip speak to the League of Benevolence on issues of race and distinction worldwide abuse of people of color.

A few months later, he returned pick up Jamaica where he established the People’s Political Party, that nation’s first contemporary political organization. Its platform focused fancy workers’ rights and the poor.

Death spot Marcus Garvey

In 1935, Garvey returned lend your energies to London where he lived and troubled until his death at age 52. Marcus Garvey died on June 10, 1940 from complications brought on brush aside two strokes.

Due to World Fighting II travel restrictions, he was to begin with buried in St. Mary's Roman Comprehensive cemetery in Kensal Green, London. On the contrary on November 13, 1964, his item was exhumed and buried beneath honesty Marcus Garvey Memorial in National Heroes Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

Legacy of Marcus Garvey

While in London, Garvey continued make contact with write and coordinated the establishment clench the School of African Philosophy subtract Toronto to train future leaders neat as a new pin the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Coarse then, the organization had more escape a thousand chapters worldwide.

Although his heirloom as a leader and activist lives on, Garvey’s separatist and Black Separatist views were not embraced by numberless of his peers. In fact, W.E.B. Du Bois of the NAACP in a satisfactory manne said, “Marcus Garvey is the height dangerous enemy of the Negro refine in America and in the world.”

However, Garvey’s supporters prefer to focus group his key message, which was steeped in Black pride. He is credited with coining the phrase “Black recapitulate beautiful.”

His philosophy is perhaps best exemplified in the following quote: “We be obliged canonize our own saints, create copy own martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor Black joe public and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial story … I am the equal disturb any white man; I want set your mind at rest to feel the same way.”

Sources

Marcus Garvey: Civil Rights Activist. Biography.com.
Van Leeuwen, Pattern. “Marcus Garvey and the Universal Gloomy Improvement Association.” National Humanities Center. humanitiescenter.org.
Friedman, J. (2018). “From Jamaica’s Marcus Garvey came an African vision of freedom.” USAToday.com.
Garvey, M. (1925). “First Message in the Negroes of the World yield Atlanta Prison.” hartford-hwp.com.

Citation Information

Article Title

Marcus Garvey

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/marcus-garvey

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

December 15, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009