African American History, Essay Example

When Marcus Garvey traveled to America to visit Booker T. Washington, he met a mass movement of African -Americans to the urban North and South as the demise of Jim Crow took shape when the World War 1 was coming to an end. Many African Americans had served in the devastating war, and when they returned home, they expected to be accorded acknowledgment and respect. People prayed and wished for equality and freedom and equal treatment as their white counterparts. This was not the case as more racial tensions and discriminations spread wide. The racial riots erupting in East St. Louis, Tulsa and parts if Chicago was a clear sign that the white majority was not willing to treat the black community differently after the war ended.

When Garvey surveyed the racial situation in the country, he was not pleased as he realized that the political, cultural, economic and political integration was never coming that easy. Quality and respect to the black community were taken for granted and thus in 1917 in New York established the UNIA headquarters[1]. The establishment of the headquarters gave the group the path to spreading the resounding message of Black Nationalism. Notably, in his Black Nationalism message, the movement has three components that included complete autonomy of the black people, cultural heritage and unity of the African Americans.

At the age of 35 years, Marcus Garvey became the undisputed leader of a major movement in America with at least 3 million followers. The over 3 million black members made at least a third of the entire black population at that time.  The success of Garvey is pegged on some factors that include great oratory skills, personal charm and charisma, knowledge of the black community and their collective power and his personal attributes as a sincere and dedicated individual will to face the threat of White supremacy.  He had an admirable militant stance that enabled him to cement his position as a leader as his speeches at the Liberty lecture hall resonated well with the aggrieved black community. He remains the father of international Black Nationalism, and many regard him as the greatest African American leader to emerge in the 20th century.

Garvey bought the Liberty Hall in Harlem in 1919 to facilitate his activities and nightly meetings after establishing the Negro World newspaper that had about 200, 000 circulations that spread the philosophy of his movement and highlighted the racial prejudices they faced. Garvey’s most notable achievement that reflected his great organizational skills was the UNIA’S International Convention of the Negros in the year 1920. He managed it in spite of the widespread wrangles on the attendees from the African American world. At the convention, the movement formally adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Negros and agreed on a red, black and green flag to symbolize the Negro Race movement. The movement advocated for complete control of black community institutions without outside interference.

Among the challenges he faced was the opposition from Hubert Harrison, a Negro World Editor who questioned his legitimacy based on his Jamaican roots terming his election a farce. Other oppositions came from Africa Blood Brotherhood who questioned his Caribbean roots and argued that Africans needed their own man to lead them[2]. Marcus Garvey’s ships were destroyed by a group of men from Negro Advancement Associations that worked towards bringing him down. Another factor that led to his downfall was his great loss in the shipping industry where he had invested a lot of money. He at one point admitted to a lack of proper knowledge in ship navigation and management. Notably, the downfall of Marcus Garvey was because of military style of leadership. He was inaugurated as the president of Africa dressed in scarlet robes and a turban with gold highlights making him look ridiculous. While Garvey is not regarded as an intellect, his military style activism became a point of concern to the federal government that deemed his activities illegal.

Bibliography

Archer, Jules. They Had a Dream: The Struggles of Four of the Most Influential Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, from Frederick Douglass to Marcus Garvey to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2016.

Gershoni, Yekutiel. Africans on African-Americans: the creation and uses of an African-American myth. Springer, 2016.

[1] Archer, Jules. They Had a Dream: The Struggles of Four of the Most Influential Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, from Frederick Douglass to Marcus Garvey to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2016.

[2] Gershoni, Yekutiel. Africans on African-Americans: the creation and uses of an African-American myth. Springer, 2016, p.88.92.