Marcus Garvey: The Black Moses

by Zoltanous

Introduction

As Black History Month ignites discussions about pivotal figures and movements, names like Martin Luther King Jr. often dominate the spotlight, lauded for their roles in the civil rights struggle. However, Marcus Garvey, a visionary yet under-recognized leader, deserves more prominence for his profound impact on Black empowerment. Garvey’s fierce dedication to preserving African cultural identity and fostering self-reliance gave a resounding voice to people of African descent, challenging Western assimilation and inspiring pride in heritage. His Black nationalist vision, rooted in economic independence and cultural unity, remains a vital yet often overlooked perspective, enriching the narrative of Black history and prompting reflection on the figures we choose to celebrate.

The Black Moses

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, born on August 17, 1887, in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, was the youngest of eleven siblings, with roots in both Jamaican and African heritage. Growing up in poverty, he left school early to work as a printer’s apprentice, an experience that shaped his early worldview. In 1910, his travels across Central and South America exposed him to the harsh realities faced by Black workers, igniting a lifelong commitment to advancing Black communities.

In 1914, Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) in Jamaica, aiming to promote economic independence and social empowerment for Black people. After moving to the United States in 1916, he grew the UNIA-ACL, establishing chapters in cities like New York, which became its headquarters. Garvey launched several Black-owned ventures, including a newspaper and the groundbreaking Black Star Line, a steamship company operated entirely by Black individuals. Unlike organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which relied on funding from non-Black sources, Garvey’s initiatives were grassroots, supported primarily by small donations from Black communities.

Photos of the UNIA

Garvey speaking on pan-Africanism

Marcus Garvey staunchly opposed adopting "Liberalism," which he saw as a product of White society, and instead championed Black Nationalism as the path forward for Black people. He recognized the diverse cultural and regional differences among the Black diaspora, shaped by history and geography, but emphasized a common African heritage as the unifying force for a collective future. Garvey believed this shared African identity was crucial for Black people to forge their own destiny, distinct from assimilation into the "White man’s" Liberal framework. His views drew sharp criticism from figures like J. Edgar Hoover and W. E. B. Du Bois, the latter a key leader of the NAACP. Garvey accused Du Bois of pursuing a status akin to White elites, aligning with the dominant economic ideals of the time, a charge later echoed in his critiques of figures like Martin Luther King Jr. In response, Du Bois branded Garvey as a dangerous Black leader, while Garvey countered that Du Bois, as a mixed-race individual, sought only to blend into White Liberal society.

Rather than striving for material equality through integration into "White" America, Garvey focused on uplifting Black communities through self-reliance and independent efforts. Inspired by movements like Ireland’s Sinn Féin and its push for self-governance, he envisioned a self-determined Black homeland for his followers. While he admired the transformative energy of the Soviet revolution under Lenin, Garvey was not driven by Communist ideology but by a desire for a revolutionary awakening that would empower Black people to chart their own course.

Garvey's sentiments are reflected in the following two statements he made:

“If the Englishman claims England as his native habitat, and the Frenchman claims France, the time has come for 400 million Negroes to claim Africa as their native land.”

“The world has reached a crossroads of humanity, when each race will travel in its own direction, when each national group will travel its own avenue. Let the Anglo-Saxon go the way he desires to go. Let the Frenchman go the way he desires; let the Teuton go the way he desires to go; we are now organizing the 400,000,000 Negroes so that they can go the way they desire to go.”

— Marcus Garvey, The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers

A photo of Marcus Garvey

A colorized photo of Garvey

To advance his vision of Black and White separation, Marcus Garvey controversially engaged with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In June 1922, he met with KKK Imperial Wizard Edward Young Clark in Atlanta, Georgia, a move that set him apart from other Black leaders. Garvey argued that his Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) acknowledged the United States as a predominantly White domain and pushed for a distinct Black homeland in Africa. This alignment of goals created a partial overlap with the KKK’s separatist ideology. Consequently, Garvey encountered fewer obstacles during his travels in the South, as his organization’s message did not directly clash with KKK views. This meeting followed a series of bold speeches by Garvey, which further amplified his stance on Black self-determination and separation.

“I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together.”

— Marcus Garvey quoted in Strange Bedfellows: Eugenicists, White Supremacists, and Marcus Garvey In Virginia, 1922-1927 by Sarah L. Trembanis

He took a confrontational stance not only toward the KKK but also against what he perceived as Jewish influence and Communism, delivering sharp critiques of both. He criticized what he saw as excessive Jewish control in media, finance, and political spheres, claiming it undermined Black interests. Garvey was among the earliest Black leaders to highlight Jewish involvement in the North Atlantic slave trade. He rejected Communism outright, viewing it as overly tied to the Jews and disconnected from the racial challenges Black people faced, prioritizing class struggles over the stark racial realities in the United States and globally.

Garvey also opposed interracial relationships, condemning mixed-race individuals as betraying Black identity and weakening racial cohesion. Through his UNIA-ACL, he promoted racial purity and pride, envisioning an African state that would “civilize” its indigenous populations while imposing Christian values. Additionally, he expressed admiration for authoritarian figures like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, praising Hitler as a German nationalist akin to historical conquerors like Caesar and Napoleon, whose empire-building ambitions Garvey sought to emulate for Africa. Of Mussolini, he spoke with bold admiration, celebrating his authoritarian resolve as a model for leadership.

“We were the first Fascists.… When we had 100,000 disciplined men, and were training children, Mussolini was still an unknown, [and] Mussolini copied our Fascism.”

— Marcus Garvey, Negro With a Hat

Garvey’s economic vision centered on Black self-sufficiency, driven by collective action and solidarity. Through the UNIA-ACL, he championed Black-owned enterprises to create jobs and wealth, encouraging the community to unite resources for financial independence. His newspaper, Negro World, and projects like the Black Star Line shipping company exemplified this commitment. Garvey envisioned a pan-African nation with economic policies drawing from Fascist Italy’s corporatism and Nazism, blending disciplined governance with self-reliant progress for Black empowerment.

His initial admiration for Mussolini faltered after Italy’s 1935 invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Garvey, who viewed Emperor Haile Selassie as a beacon of Black sovereignty — later linked to Rastafarian veneration — denounced the attack in his publication The Black Man. Yet, in 1937, he boldly claimed, “We were the first Fascists,” referencing his earlier respect for Mussolini’s order and the UNIA-ACL’s paramilitary Universal African Legion, dressed in striking blue uniforms. This passion earned him the title “Black Moses,” symbolizing a leader guiding his people from Western domination to an African homeland.

Garvey’s “Back to Africa” movement and relentless push for self-reliance clashed with groups like the NAACP, who deemed him unrealistic, authoritarian, and divisive. In 1922, the NAACP, alongside the Friends of Negro Freedom, launched the “Garvey Must Go” campaign, accusing him of fraud over the Black Star Line’s financial struggles. On January 15, 1923, eight prominent Black leaders, including editors and activists, urged Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty to prosecute Garvey for mail fraud, aiming to dismantle his “threatening” movement. Convicted in 1923, Garvey served two years before his deportation in 1927.

The NAACP’s opposition may have been intensified by its connections to Jewish donors and leaders — Garvey had previously criticized Jewish influence in media and finance and highlighted their role in the slave trade. Historians note, however, that broader conflicts drove the rift: Garvey’s separatist ideals challenged the NAACP’s integrationist aims, and his confrontational approach alienated figures like Du Bois, who labeled him a “lunatic or a traitor.” Personal rivalries and ideological divides, beyond just anti-Semitism, fueled the campaign against him. Regardless of the reasons, their efforts succeeded, and Garvey’s influence was diminished.

“The NAACP viewed Garvey's movement as a dangerous rival to their own organization, and they worked to undermine his influence and credibility within the African American community. They were concerned that his advocacy for black nationalism and separatism would lead to division and conflict among black people, and they saw his movement as a potential obstacle to their own efforts to promote integration and equal rights."

— David Levering Lewis, When Harlem Was In Vogue

Garvey became a target for the U.S. government, which deemed him a subversive and a national security threat. Agencies and organizations such as the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor to the FBI), the NAACP, established Black Newspapers, and the local District Attorney were all implicated in efforts to discredit and bring down Marcus Garvey, ultimately leading to his historical obscurity. His 1922 arrest for mail fraud, related to the selling of Black Star Line stock, was part of this campaign. The UNIA leader accused Jewish individuals of prejudice against him during his 1923 mail fraud trial, attributing the bias to his interactions with the KKK and even referring to the judge and District Attorney as “damned dirty Jews.”

In 1928 Garvey told a journalist:

“When they wanted to get me they had a Jewish judge try me, and a Jewish prosecutor. I would have been freed but two Jews on the jury held out against me for ten hours and succeeded in convicting me, whereupon the Jewish judge gave me the maximum penalty.”

— Marcus Garvey quoted in June 21, 1923: Marcus Garvey Sentenced to a Five-year Imprisonment by Walter Opinde

The trial that led to Garvey’s imprisonment was deeply controversial, with the legal proceedings and jury including individuals of Jewish descent. The presiding judge, Julian Mack, was a prominent Jewish leader, holding influential roles in organizations like the Zionist Organization of America, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress, and having ties to B’nai B’rith, the parent group of the Anti-Defamation League. Many viewed Garvey’s conviction as a foregone conclusion, and he was sentenced to prison, where he wrote a powerful letter to his followers. Despite his deportation to Jamaica and loss of U.S. citizenship in 1927, followed by his death in 1940, Garvey’s vision of Black self-determination and economic independence endured, even as the UNIA-ACL waned after his passing.

Conclusions

Marcus Garvey passionately advocated for a distinct African identity, striving to safeguard cultural heritage against the pressures of Western assimilation, which he believed undermined individuality and cultural roots. He deliberately rejected a victimhood narrative, focusing instead on fostering a nationalist movement rooted in Black empowerment and self-reliance. Garvey's life was marked by resistance against the societal forces that continue to challenge many nationalists today. He foresaw that his efforts might be sidelined in the broader context of Black history. Consequently, his true Black nationalist vision and objectives are often misunderstood or underrepresented, resulting in a historical account that frequently elevate traitorous groups like the NAACP, to communists like Martin Luther King Jr., and the Black Panthers. This also encompasses deranged movements in the Black community, such as the Black Israelites. From my perspective, these entities do not fully embody Garvey’s authentic nationalism and have not served the best interests of Black Americans.

“Having had the wrong education as a start in his racial career, the Negro has become his own greatest enemy. Most of the trouble I have had in advancing the cause of the race has come from Negroes. Booker Washington aptly described the race in one of his lectures by stating that we were like crabs in a barrel, that none would allow the other to climb over, but on any such attempt all would continue to pull back into the barrel the one crab that would make the effort to climb out. Yet, those of us with vision cannot desert the race, leaving it to suffer and die.”

― Marcus Garvey, Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey