Top 10 Things About Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Aug 6, 2020 | News & Blog

  1. ORGANIZER: Marcus Garvey was the World’s Greatest Organizer as he was able to organize more than 12 million Africans worldwide.
  2. HISTORY: Mr. Garvey used history to inspire and educate, and not to dwell in it.
  3. A BETTER DAY: Mr. Garvey sold the Black Man to himself so that he believed that a better day is coming.
  4. NEGRO WORLD: The Negro World newspaper was the world’s most successful international weekly publication with a subscription of over 500,000. It was so successful that the British empire banned the Negro World newspaper. It was single handedly responsible for the education of African people worldwide as it had Black history, Arts, Culture and Women’s pages.
  5. FLAG: Motivated to denounce the song, “Every Race has a Flag but the Coon”, Garvey built an economic empire and established a Declaration of Rights resulting in the creation of a Government so as to secure the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Africans worldwide. Subsequently, the Government of the UNIA ACL was founded. The colors of the Black race are Red, Black, and Green.
  6. UNIVERSAL ANTHEM: After establishing the economic empire, the Government of the UNIA, the Red, Black & Green, the Anthem of the Government of the UNIA was also established.
  7. AFRICAN LEGION: Amongst the auxiliary components of the UNIA were the Universal African Legion, a paramilitary group; the African Black Cross Nurses; African Black Cross Society; the Universal African Motor Corps; the Black Eagle Flying Corps, and the Juvenile Division, which was the youth corps.
  8. RACE PRIDE: Garvey went about the task of converting the disabilities of race into a positive tool of liberation with a thorough aggressiveness. Mr. Garvey built a mass organization (government) that went beyond mere civil-rights agitation protest and based itself upon a definitive, well-thought-out program that would lead to the total emancipation of the race from foreign dominion. As per Mr. Garvey, “The world has made being black a crime, and instead of making it a crime I hope to make it a virtue.” Nor was Garvey’s idea of racial pride a matter of envy towards other races. Rather, he advocated self-discipline as the basis of pride, and was severely critical of complainers.
  9. ADVOCACY OF HARD WORK: Beneath the splendor usually associated with
    his name, beneath the genius for organizing, beneath the oratorical eloquence for which he was legendary, Mr. Garvey is a notorious advocate of hard work, an advocate of the singleness of purpose and an advocate of self discipline. The leader must strive to master his shortcomings”, he says. “The race must strive for excellence. The greatest men and women in the world burn the midnight lamp.” Garvey states eloquently, “As other people were willing to sacrifice their time and even their lives to christianize our race so we must exercise patience and time to civilize our people.”
  1. ECONOMICS SELF RELIANCE: Buildings Owned in NYC
    Grocery Store No 1: 47 West 135th Street;
    Grocery Store No 2: 646 Lenox Avenue (@ 142nd Street);
    Grocery Store No 3: 552 Lenox Avenue (@ 138th Street);
    Universal Restaurant No 1: 114 West 138th Street;
    Universal Restaurant No 2: 75 West 135th Street;
    Universal Printing House: 2305 7th Avenue @ 135th Street;
    Universal Mart Industry: 62 West 142nd Street;
    Black Dolls Factory: 36-38 West 135th Street;
    Booker T. Washington University & Phyllis Wheatley Hotel:
    3-13 West 136th Street;
    UNIA Head Office: 56 west 135th Street;
    BSLA Head Office: 54 west 135th Street.