ENGL 2650-201
Marcus Garvey
First of all, Marcus Garvey convinced his followers the primary need of black people was the formation of their own nation. He called it “Back to Africa” movement. Garvey encouraged the descendants of black slaves to return to their historic motherland (Sewell, “The architect of a world of free minds”). The starting point of Garvey`s reflections was the conviction in the futility of attempts to integrate black people into white society. The black diaspora did not have any possibility to fully participate in the social and political life of the West. Such a situation was generated not only by the conditions of racial segregation, but also by a specific African-American mentality, which was formed over centuries of slavery (Watson, “Marcus Garvey”).
Evidently, this was a painful problem for the black people, which needed to be solved. Moreover, Garvey was entirely convinced that in the end of history, the blacks would rule the world. According to Garvey, this would become possible not as a result of racial wars, but as an outcome of degradation of the white population. He believed that one day the Western civilization will give itself into the hands of the black people. However, in Garvey`s times of imperialism, the black people still referred to themselves as “slaves”. The white people did not want to give the blacks any room for political or economic activity. Therefore, Marcus Garvey said: “Europe for the Europeans, Africa for the Black” (Martens, “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”, 3).
Moreover, the rethinking of one`s African origin should, according to Harvey, help to improve the self-identify of the black people. He was encouraging people to stop thinking about themselves as parts of the concepts, imposed by the white owners of the world. A literal understanding of the slogan “Back to Africa”, within the framework of Pan-Africanism meant that the representatives of the Negro diaspora should go to Africa for the sake of their own well-being and spiritual growth. This doctrine of Negro repatriation represents a kind of “black Zionism” (Watson, “Marcus Garvey”, 2).
However, at the same time, the idea of the return to their historical homeland originated long before Marcus Garvey - and, interestingly enough, such idea was proposed by the whites, not by the blacks. American Colonization Society, the first organization, created to help the black immigrate to Africa, was founded in 1816 by white people. In 1822, a colony of “free colorful people” was organized on the West Coast of Africa (Martens, “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”, 3). Furthermore, in 1847 the American settlers, who were the former slaves, proclaimed the independence of their own state called Liberia (Martens, “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”).
Thus, the Black Zionism was almost 100 years ahead of the Jewish Zionism in the idea of the return to the homeland of their ancestors as well as in the creation of their own state. But Liberia could hardly take the central place in the Pan-African doctrine. The settlers from America oppressed the indigenous people of Liberia. Therefore, even the unity of the race did not prevent them from engaging in the slave trade. They were copying all the social evil, to which the Negroes were exposed in America. In my view, the idea of separation of different races goes against the vision of the human rights (Andrews, “We need to revive the revolutionary spirit of the Pan-African Congress”).
Apart from it, in the teachings of Marcus Garvey, all the good was black and all the bad was white. He even claimed that God, the Virgin Mary and the angels were black, and the devil - white. But two million supporters of Marcus Garvey saw him as their “Black Moses” (Martens, “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”, 1). The mass movement “Back to Africa” was named garvism. But in 1925 Marcus Garvey was convicted in the United States for financial fraud and, after two years of sitting in prison, was deported to Jamaica (Andrews, “We need to revive the revolutionary spirit of the Pan-African Congress”).
As to the uniform, which Garvey used to wear, in my view, he wanted to be associated with Napoleon in the minds of the black people. It is evident that the idea of French Revolution encompassed the values of freedom and human dignity. Nevertheless, if the Gravey`s movement has been successful, the blacks would be divide from the whites without any respect as to the personal qualities of each person.
It should be stated that the predecessors of Marcus Garvey enthusiastically developed the idea that the discrimination of black by the whites was an absurd historical mistake, because in ancient times, the white race dramatically dragged behind the blacks in all respects. While Negros in Africa wrote books on mathematics, the white lived in caves and practiced cannibalism. On a practical level, a return to the African identity meant performing certain symbolic actions, which would emphasize the transition from the white culture paradigm into another cultural space. From Babylon to Africa (Martens, “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”).
As to the person of Marcus Garvey as a leader, that “little fat ugly black man with cunning eyes and a big head” (that is how unflattering his opponent, the famous African-American leader, William Dubois, said of him) was endowed with all the necessary qualities to be transformed from an average politician into a mythical prince of the whole race (Sewell, “The architect of a world of free minds”, 4). Eventually, on the streets, in the squares and in the pages of his weekly “Negro World”, Marcus Garvey prophesied about the great past of Africa, of the Egyptian pharaohs and of the recent heroes of the liberation struggle. He was inspiring his listeners with a sense of racial pride, for “the black is fine!” (Watson, “Marcus Garvey”, 1).
Nevertheless, the era of Marcus Garvey in the history of the African liberation movement began in 1916, when he moved to the United States. Although the African-American elite was hoping for integration into a unified American society, was criticizing Marcus Garvey for his ideas, the audience of Jamaican preacher now included millions of people. As it has already been mentioned, the central point of the propaganda was the revival of the African identity among the black people (Sewell, “The architect of a world of free minds”).
All things considered, it can be said the concept of the 19th –century slavery has created an ill set of values and standards in the minds of a lot of people. Especially it is true for the victims of discrimination. Marcus Garvey did not succeed because there are more significant differences than the colour of skin. Being black does not mean having similar identity.
Works Cited
Andrews, Kehinde. “We need to revive the revolutionary spirit of the Pan-African Congress”. The Guardian. Web. 26 February 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/15/revolutionary-spirit-pan-african-congress
Martens, Jacky. “Marcus Garvey, Negro Ex-Leader”. NY Times. Web. 12 June 1940.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0817.html .
Sewell, Tony. “The architect of a world of free minds”. The Guardian. Web. 4 February
2015. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/oct/14/blackhistorymonth-race .
Watson, Rachel. “Marcus Garvey”. The BBC. Web. 31 March 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garvey_marcus.shtml .
