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I trained Sheng Long and Shonuff
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Marcus Garvey is in my opinion the greatest African leader and visionary of the 20th century. What he and the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League was able to accomplish affected not only black people in the United States, but his movement was felt in every country where there was a population of people of African descent. Despite what he was able to accomplish, his history and legacy receives almost no mainstream attention because of his message of race first and self reliance. In this thread I'd like to shine light on what he was able to accomplish while he was here, and what he did to unite Africans globally to directly challenge white supremacy.
Garvey believed that African Americans were universally oppressed and any program of emancipation would have to be built around the question of race. In his mind, African Americans would aspire to positions of influence if they had educational opportunities, and this would bring them into direct competition with the white power structure. However, he believed that within 100 years, such a position would lead to racial strife which would be disastrous for them.
The urgency that he felt for racial independence and self-reliance existed because he believed African Americans suffered in the face of enormous economic superiority and power of the white world. He thought that they should strive to first build a solid industrial foundation and the consequential success would allow African Americans to shape their own destiny. Garvey said "the acme of American Negro enterprise is not yet reached. You have still a far way to go. You want more stores, more banks, and bigger enterprises." Garvey believed the white race would cease its aggressiveness toward the black race when it was met by an independent black power of a magnitude equal to its own. He believe we prejudice existed not because of a difference in race, but a difference in power.
With that belief, Garvey went to work.
The Black Star Line
Garvey created the Black Star Line company in 1919 and purchased its first ship, the SS Yarmouth. In total 4 ships were purchased under the Black Star Line banner. Yarmouth, Shadyside, Kanawha, and the Phyllis Wheatley. The UNIA raised the money to purchase the ships by issuing stock in the Black Star Line shipping company. The Black Star Line did business in the US, Caribbean, Central and Latin America.
Negro Factories Corporation
After launching the Black Star Line, Garvey started the Negro Factory Corporations. Garvey believed that everything the black people needed, black people had to create. Under the Negro Factories Corporation umbrella was the following companies: Universal Laundries, Universal Restaurants (2 eateries), Universal Grocery Store (3 stores), Phyllis Wheatley Hotel, Beehive Printing Plant, a doll factory, tailor, Universal Millinery Store, and the Black Cross Navigation and Trading company. The UNIA also owned 3 buildings, a lot, 2 trucks, and was planning to purchase a large bank. The UNIA had 1,000 employees in US alone by 1924. The UNIA economic impact was so great that in may 1922 alone 40 business went to UNIA for bailouts.
UNIA Doll Factory
Universal Millernary Store
Hotels
Liberty Hall
Black Cross Navigation and Trading company
Red Black and Green Flag
Because Africans globally was oppressed Garvey created the RBG flag to unite black people under a single political and ideological banner. The UNIA acted as the provisional government of black people globally and the RBG flag was the international symbol of black autonomy and independence.
Marcus Garvey is in my opinion the greatest African leader and visionary of the 20th century. What he and the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League was able to accomplish affected not only black people in the United States, but his movement was felt in every country where there was a population of people of African descent. Despite what he was able to accomplish, his history and legacy receives almost no mainstream attention because of his message of race first and self reliance. In this thread I'd like to shine light on what he was able to accomplish while he was here, and what he did to unite Africans globally to directly challenge white supremacy.
Garvey believed that African Americans were universally oppressed and any program of emancipation would have to be built around the question of race. In his mind, African Americans would aspire to positions of influence if they had educational opportunities, and this would bring them into direct competition with the white power structure. However, he believed that within 100 years, such a position would lead to racial strife which would be disastrous for them.
The urgency that he felt for racial independence and self-reliance existed because he believed African Americans suffered in the face of enormous economic superiority and power of the white world. He thought that they should strive to first build a solid industrial foundation and the consequential success would allow African Americans to shape their own destiny. Garvey said "the acme of American Negro enterprise is not yet reached. You have still a far way to go. You want more stores, more banks, and bigger enterprises." Garvey believed the white race would cease its aggressiveness toward the black race when it was met by an independent black power of a magnitude equal to its own. He believe we prejudice existed not because of a difference in race, but a difference in power.
With that belief, Garvey went to work.
The Black Star Line
Garvey created the Black Star Line company in 1919 and purchased its first ship, the SS Yarmouth. In total 4 ships were purchased under the Black Star Line banner. Yarmouth, Shadyside, Kanawha, and the Phyllis Wheatley. The UNIA raised the money to purchase the ships by issuing stock in the Black Star Line shipping company. The Black Star Line did business in the US, Caribbean, Central and Latin America.
Negro Factories Corporation
After launching the Black Star Line, Garvey started the Negro Factory Corporations. Garvey believed that everything the black people needed, black people had to create. Under the Negro Factories Corporation umbrella was the following companies: Universal Laundries, Universal Restaurants (2 eateries), Universal Grocery Store (3 stores), Phyllis Wheatley Hotel, Beehive Printing Plant, a doll factory, tailor, Universal Millinery Store, and the Black Cross Navigation and Trading company. The UNIA also owned 3 buildings, a lot, 2 trucks, and was planning to purchase a large bank. The UNIA had 1,000 employees in US alone by 1924. The UNIA economic impact was so great that in may 1922 alone 40 business went to UNIA for bailouts.
UNIA Doll Factory
Universal Millernary Store
Hotels
Liberty Hall
Black Cross Navigation and Trading company
If you haven't confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.
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At the time of Garvey, the entire African world was under European control. When Garvey traveled throughout the USA, South America and the Caribbean he saw black people on the bottom and whites on the top. Garvey focused on the need to restore the pride in Africans across the diaspora. His believe in self reliance was so strong that when white philanthropist came to invest money, he said "We do not want their money, this is a black man's movement."Click to expand...
Red Black and Green Flag
Because Africans globally was oppressed Garvey created the RBG flag to unite black people under a single political and ideological banner. The UNIA acted as the provisional government of black people globally and the RBG flag was the international symbol of black autonomy and independence.
Show me the race or the nation without a flag, and I will show you a race of people without any pride. Aye! In song and mimicry they have said, "Every race has a flag but the c00n." How true! Aye! But that was said of us four years ago. They can't say it now....
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The Negro Doll factory created black dolls for black children to instill racial pride at a young age. The UNIA sponsored beauty pageants and published pictures of beautiful black women. Garvey also held parades that were attended by the thousands.Click to expand...
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He was active during the time of Black Wall Street too. I didn't know they had all of those ships. They were doing it big back then. That racist Hoover interfering again which shouldn't surprise anyone.
