Marcus Garvey and the Garveyite movement

Garveyism and the Gendered Politics of Pan-Africanism Student’s Name Instructor Institutional Affiliation Course Date Garveyism and the Gendered Politics of Pan-Africanism Garveyism, the movement led by Marcus Garvey, was and remains a forceful enunciation of Black pride, self-reliance, and Pan-African nationalism that originated in the early 20th century. The philosophy behind this movement was not merely a reaction to racism in the United States and colonialism abroad but an ambitious reconceptualization of Black identity and the future. Commitment to economic empowerment, Black solidarity, racial pride, and the eventual redemption of Africans characterized Garveyism. What distinguished Garveyism as an outgrowth of earlier Pan-Africanism was its global aim of Black liberation and sovereignty, preached by Garvey and his followers under the banner of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The contributions of Marcus Garvey and Amy Jacques Garvey provide a helpful lens through which to view the broad and evolving tenets of the UNIA. Defining Garveyism and the UNIA’s Motivations Garveyism was based on the conviction that all people of African origin needed to form a common front to rediscover their history, identity, and dignity. The driving force behind this philosophy was Garvey's call, “Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad.” UNIA aimed to establish self-help Black institutions, a Black-controlled African motherland, and economic independence by initiating businesses such as the Black Star Line shipping line. They came as a result of deep disappointment over the institutionalized racism that African Americans and Caribbean immigrants faced, especially after World War I, where visions of equality between races were not realized.[Ula Y Taylor, The Veiled Garvey: The Life & Times of Amy Jacques Garvey (University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 145.] To Garvey and his followers, the reasons varied. The racial brutality of the Red Summer of 1919, Western democracies' failure to address colonial exploitation, and the economic disenfranchisement of Black communities created a ripe envi...