How much do you know about Marcus Garvey? We don’t hear about him as much as we should. His power can be summed up in one phrase, “Know Thyself.” He believed that with knowledge of self there was nothing that black people couldn’t achieve. In 1914 he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association to achieve Black Nationalism. Which is advocacy for the unity and political self determination for Black people. It is grounded in the belief that efforts to operate within a political system deemed racist and unresponsive to black needs are doomed to failure. He also fostered restaurants and shopping centers to encourage black economic independence. In 1922 he had a meeting with the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan. He believed that the KKK was a “secret” government of the USA and that the UNIA had common interests with the KKK in racial separatism and total segregation. And when news of that meeting leaked many of his followers left the organization. Earl and Louise Little remained steadfast in their loyalty to Garvey, the parents of Malcolm X. On June 10th 1940 He died at age 52 after multiple strokes. His organization was very much a precursor to the Nation of Islam and his thoughts and ideas are still seen as radical in todays society. I highly advise listening to his knowledge of self speech. His legacy continues to instill pride and inspiration among many black people throughout the diaspora.
enemies too.