The Life Of Marcus Garvey
Essay Preview: The Life Of Marcus Garvey
Report this essay
Strong Opinion Intro
Historical Information on black nationalist
What is a black nationalist
What people think of a black nationalist
Who is a black nationalist?
Background Information on Marcus Garvey
Who is Marcus Garvey
What did Marcus Garvey do
Marcus Garvey accomplishments
Speeches
Conferences
What was the conferences about
What Marcus Garvey said at the conferences
Parades
What the parades about
Why did he attend the parades
What did he do at the parades
Meetings
The meetings at Liberty Hall
Writings
Letters
Letters to Universal Negro Improvement Association
Newspapers
Garveys Watchman
Our Own
Quotes
From his books
From his speeches
Back to Africa movement
Stocks
How much the stocks were
Why the people had to buy the stocks
Steam Boat
A way to get to Africa
Buying the line of boats
The use of the boats
Liberia and Ethiopia
Why was those countries chosen
Conclusion
Brandon Weir
Miss Perry
Composition
July 25, 2003
The Life of Marcus Garvey
What is a black nationalist? A black nationalist is a member of a group of militant blacks who advocate separatism from the whites and the formation of self-governing black communities. Many black people believed that some members of the white race were the cause of the downfall to their black race. There are many black leaders and philosophers who believed that the black race needed to unite and come together as one race against the white race. One of those leaders who proposed that the blacks should come together was Marcus Garvey. Marcus Garvey is a black nationalist according to his speeches, his writings, and his Back to Africa movement.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in the town of St. Anns Bay, Jamaica, on August 17, 1887. He was named Marcus after his father, who was a descendent of the Maroons. Maroons were African slaves that escaped from the British and lived in the mountaintops of Jamaica. Marcus Garvey father who was a stonemason, used most of his earnings on books, trying to educate himself with many subjects. His mother was a religious woman. She was hoping that by giving Marcus the middle of Mosiah, he would become like Moses and lead his people to freedom.
After Marcus Garvey started reading some of his fathers books, he learned about colonization of Africa by European powers (Archer 84). Marcus Garvey became familiar with the oppression of people with black skin and white skin. Since him and his family were blacks, they lived on the lowest social and economic level in British Jamaica (Archer 84). He realized that the white man was the master because of his color. Marcus Garvey saw that light-skinned people was treated differently from the dark Jamaicans.
Marcus Garvey father made him go to school and get an education. He wanted his son to be educated so that the white man could not overpower him. Marcus Garvey started reading book after book, learning about his heritage. Marcus Garvey was inspired by stories of many heroic slave leaders who had fought against injustice and won (Cronon 6). When Marcus Garvey father died, he was forced to leave school due to the economic hardships. Marcus Garvey entered an apprenticeship with his godfather, a printer in Kingston.
When Marcus Garvey was twenty, he had become a master printer. He won the job as foreman on the islands largest printing firm. Every week Marcus Garvey read The Jamaica Advocate. An educated black priest who lived in the United States published it. His name was Robert Love. He wrote about the islands problems with the government. After reading Robert Love, Marcus Garvey was influenced by his statements in the paper. Marcus Garvey wanted his people to fight for better wages and work conditions.
Marcus Garvey led his people on a strike. The company only offered him a raise if he would return to work and call off the strike. Marcus Garvey refused because he wanted his people also to get a raise, but the company brought in workers to take the strikers places. Many of the workers went back to work without anything. Marcus Garvey failed his attempt to help his people. He was a determined to help his people come up from their social and economic level. He kept on fighting and fighting with companys to give the people better wages and working conditions.
Marcus Garvey gave up his new job at the government print shop. He then started a political magazine called Garveys Watchman (Archer 87). The magazine really did not pick up as he thought it would so he had to stop printing. He realized that he needed to form an organization called the National Club. With all the members that joined his organization, each member had to pay dues. Each member dues helped to pay for a new magazine called Our Own. In the magazine, Marcus states, “Blacks should