Draft:Marcus Garvey and the call for African economic justice
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Marcus Garvey and the Call for African Economic Justice refers to the economic dimension of Garvey’s Pan‑African ideology, emphasizing self‑sufficiency, economic empowerment, and the creation of Black‑owned enterprises as a route to liberation for people of African descent. Garvey believed that political freedom without economic independence was incomplete and championed the formation of Black‑owned businesses, financial institutions, and transnational networks that would uplift African communities globally.[1]
Background
[edit]Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887–1940), a Jamaican-born political leader, journalist, and entrepreneur, was a central figure in early 20th‑century Black nationalism. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA‑ACL) in 1914, which became a global movement advocating for Black pride, unity, and independence. His message of African redemption resonated across the African diaspora, particularly in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa.[2]
Garvey's core philosophy—what he termed "Pan‑African economic nationalism"—was that people of African descent should build their own businesses, support each other economically, and establish a financial infrastructure free from colonial or white capitalist control.[3]
Garvey’s vision of economic justice
[edit]Garvey's economic message was built on three key pillars:
- Black economic self-reliance:
Garvey encouraged African-descended people to pool their resources and invest in their own communities. He famously declared, “A race without authority and power is a race without respect.”[4]
- Ownership of productive assets:
He emphasized land ownership, business development, and industrialization. The Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by the UNIA, was intended to facilitate trade and transport between Africa and the Americas. Though the project ultimately failed, it symbolized a bold attempt at transnational Black capitalism.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Fierce, Milfred C. (1972). *Economic Aspects of the Marcus Garvey Movement*. The Black Scholar, 3 (7–8): 50–61.
- ^ “Marcus Garvey,” *Encyclopædia Britannica*, 6 June 2025.
- ^ “Marcus Garvey (1887 – 1940),” BBC History.
- ^ Cronon, E. D. (1969). Black Moses: The Story of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. University of Wisconsin Press.
- ^ Hill, R. A. (1983). The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers. University of California Press.