Remembering Marcus Garvey

1887 - 1940

Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was born in 1884 and was a proponent of Black nationalism in Jamaica and the United States. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. He also founded the Black Star Line, a shipping and passenger line which promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands.

Although many American Black leaders condemned his methods and his support for racial segregation, Garvey attracted a large following.

Garvey’s philosophies would inspire many others, ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement, who proclaim Garvey as a prophet.

Schools, colleges, highways, and buildings in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States have been named in his honor. The UNIA red, black, and green flag has been adopted as the Black Liberation Flag. Since 1980, Garvey’s bust has been housed in the Organization of American States’ Hall of Heroes in Washington, D.C.

In 2011 the Obama Administration declined to posthumously pardon Garvey for a bogus mail fraud charge, for which he served several years in prison from 1923 to 1927.

“Our union must know no clime, boundary, or nationality… to let us hold together under all climes and in every country…” - Marcus Garvey