Marcus Garvey
1887- 1940
Biography
Marcus Garvey was a passionate nationalist for African Americans. He advocated self-help and community for his people. He was born in Jamaica, but influenced the United States dramatically. Harvey studied in England about his race's culture, and did not like the way they were treated by other races. He decided to fight this inequality between the two races.
Contributions
Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) in August, 1914. The association was meant to unite blacks around the world to stop inequality of race. In New York, Garvey's foundation gained followers because of his ability to speak publicly. This led him to a nation speaking tour, and the organization grew massively to the largest black organization in history.
While in Harlem, Garvey published a weekly newspaper called The Negro World from 1918 to 1933. This newspaper promoted the nationalist ideas of Garvey. He was respected by millions of African Americans for praising the greatness of black people. He inspired many African Americans to take pride in their race. Garvey created a shipping company called the Black Star Line. This company raised over half a million dollars. He also created the Negro Factories Corporation, which developed many other business buildings.