Marcus Garvey, the man who shaped the movement
Marcus Moziah Garvey was born on august 17, 1887 in Saint Ann’s Bay, in Jamaica. His father passes his passion for reading to him. After the primary education, he works as typographer’s apprentice and leaves for Kingston. He is a believer. At the age of 19, he has already a reputation for being a great preacher. From then on, he starts being active, supporting strikes. He becomes involved in journalism and little by little, thanks to his trips, becomes aware of social injustices, inequalities, racism, precarious living conditions of Blacks. He learns, develops his convictions and becomes a great speaker.
In 1914, he founds the Universal Negro Improvement Association (the famous motto is “one god, one aim, one destiny”), searching for the union of all Africans. Then, he leaves Jamaica for the United States, settles in Harlem and founds a press organ: the “Negro World”. He mixes political and religious speech and that is where his strength lies. He links Bible with Africa, to make the chosen ones of descendants of slaves.
He covers the United States preaching his message. In a way, he leads a crusade for the liberation of black people, against the white domination. He is an activist, takes part in the creation of factories, schools… Thus, Garvey plays a primordial role in the emancipation of Blacks in USA. His objective is to give their dignity back to Blacks and to give them economical means to stay free. So, he stresses the wealth of the African civilization to break with Black’s feeling of inferiority. More and more involved in the movement of repatriation to Africa, he considers the continent as the Black’s country.
In 1919, he acquires an old freighter and founds a navigation company, the Black Star Line, viewed as an economical link between “people of colour” in the world. At the same time, his action with the UNIA becomes truly influential: the organization counts 6 million members in 1922. However, the bankruptcy of the Black Star Line is the starting point of the persecution of Garvey, too powerful, by the authorities, and of his return in Jamaica. He is welcomed as a liberator. In 1927, he prophesies the coronation of Haile Selassie: “Look to Africa, where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the redeemer…”. This speech is decisive for all the Rastas and constitutes undoubtedly an ideological foundation of the Rastafari movement. Jamaicans realize the extent of the movement. Garvey’s action has the effect of popularizing the Rasta thought. Moreover, he is said to be the precursor of Black Nationalism, idea developed by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
He dies in England in 1940 and is proclaimed national hero twelve years after. Generally speaking, Marcus Garvey has marked the spiritual and ideological basis of the Rastafari movement, in particular the belief in Haile Selassie, regarded as the God of the Black race… Promoting the Black cause throughout his life, he has durably inspired great black and Rasta thinkers.
Antoine
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