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Garveyism is an aspect of black nationalism that refers to the economic, racial and political policies of UNIA-ACL founder Marcus Garvey.[1][2]
Ethiopia, thou land of our fathers,
Thou land where the gods loved to be,
As storm cloud at night suddenly gathers
Our armies come rushing to thee.
We must in the fight be victorious
When swords are thrust outward to gleam;
For us will the vict'ry be glorious
When led by the red, black, and green.
— Lyrics from the UNIA anthem[3]
Ideologically, Garvey was a black nationalist.[4] Generally referring to dark-skinned peoples of African descent as "Negroes", he and the UNIA insisted that that term should be capitalized, thus affording dignity and respect to those whom it described.[5] His ideas were influenced by a range of sources. According to biographer Colin Grant, while he was living in London, Garvey displayed "an amazing capacity to absorb political tracts, theories of social engineering, African history and the Western Enlightenment."[6] Garvey was exposed to the ideas about race that were prevalent at the time;[7] his ideas on race were also heavily informed by the writings of Edward Wilmot Blyden[8] and by his work in London with Dusé Mohamed Ali.[9]
During the late 1910s and 1920s, Garvey was also influenced by the ideas of the Irish independence movement, to which he was sympathetic.[10] He saw strong parallels between the subjugation of Ireland and the global subjugation of black people,[11] and identified strongly with the Irish independence leader Éamon de Valera.[12] In 1922, he sent a message to Valera stating that "We believe Ireland should be free even as Africa shall be free for the Negroes of the world. Keep up the fight for a free Ireland."[13]
For Garvey, Ireland's Sinn Féin and the Irish independence movement served as blueprints for his own black nationalist cause.[12] In July 1919 he stated that "the time has come for the Negro race to offer up its martyrs upon the altar of liberty even as the Irish [had] given a long list from Robert Emmet to Roger Casement."[14] He also expressed admiration for the Indian independence movement, which was seeking independence from British rule in India, describing Mahatma Gandhi as "one of the noblest characters of the day".[15]
- ^ Getachew, Adom (November 2021). "A 'Common Spectacle' of the Race: Garveyism's Visual Politics of Founding". America Political Science Review. 115 (4): 1197–1209. doi:10.1017/S0003055421000484. S2CID 236308610.
- ^ "The "Back to Africa" Myth". UNIA-ACL website. 2005-07-14. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
- ^ Cronon 1955, p. 68.
- ^ Fierce 1972, p. 50; Grant 2008, p. 173.
- ^ Cronon 1955, p. 67.
- ^ Grant 2008, p. 54.
- ^ Grant 2008, p. 300.
- ^ Grant 2008, p. 169.
- ^ Davies, Vanessa (2022). "Egypt and Egyptology in the Pan-African Discourse of Amy Jacques Garvey and Marcus Garvey". Mare Nostrum. 13 (1): 147–178. doi:10.11606/issn.2177-4218.v13i1p147-178. S2CID 257179408.
- ^ Grant 2008, pp. 173–174.
- ^ Grant 2008, p. 197.
- ^ a b Grant 2008, p. 198.
- ^ Cronon 1955, p. 64; Grant 2008, p. 246.
- ^ Hill, Robert A.; Marcus Garvey (1983). The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers: The Caribbean diaspora, 1920–1921. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520044562.
- ^ Grant 2008, pp. 331–332.