A Great American Intellectual Hero
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., National Hero of Jamaica (August 17, 1887 ?– June 10, 1940), was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, Black nationalist, orator, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Prior to the twentieth century, leaders such as Prince Hall, Martin Delaney, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Henry Highland Garnet advocated the involvement of the African diaspora in African affairs. Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement focusing on Africa known as Garveyism.[2] Promoted by the UNIA as a movement of African Redemption, Garveyism would eventually inspire others, ranging from the Nation of Islam, to the Rastafari movement (which proclaims Garvey to be a prophet). The intention of the movement was for those of African ancestry to ''redeem'' Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it. His essential ideas about Africa were stated in an editorial in the Negro World entitled ''African Fundamentalism'' where he wrote:
Our union must know no clime boundary or nationality...let us hold together under all climes and in every country...[3]
Garvey and Rastafari
Rastafarians consider Garvey a religious prophet, saint and sometimes even the reincarnation of John the Baptist. This is partly because of his frequent statements uttered in speeches throughout the 1920s, usually along the lines of ''Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned for the day of deliverance is at hand!''[29]
His beliefs deeply influenced the Rastafari, who took his statements as a prophecy of the crowning of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Early Rastas were associated with his Back-to-Africa movement in Jamaica. This early Rastafari movement was also influenced by a separate, proto-Rasta movement known as the Afro-Athlican Church that was outlined in a religious text known as the Holy Piby ?— where Garvey was proclaimed to be a prophet as well. Thus, the Rastafari movement can be seen as an offshoot of Garveyite philosophy. As his beliefs have greatly influenced Rastafari, he is often mentioned in reggae music.
Critical of Haile Selassie I in the wake of the invasion of Ethiopia before World War II, Garvey himself never identified with the Rastafari movement, and was, in fact, raised as a Methodist who went on to become a Roman Catholic.
Knowledge is Power!
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., National Hero of Jamaica (August 17, 1887 ?– June 10, 1940), was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, Black nationalist, orator, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Prior to the twentieth century, leaders such as Prince Hall, Martin Delaney, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Henry Highland Garnet advocated the involvement of the African diaspora in African affairs. Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement focusing on Africa known as Garveyism.[2] Promoted by the UNIA as a movement of African Redemption, Garveyism would eventually inspire others, ranging from the Nation of Islam, to the Rastafari movement (which proclaims Garvey to be a prophet). The intention of the movement was for those of African ancestry to ''redeem'' Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it. His essential ideas about Africa were stated in an editorial in the Negro World entitled ''African Fundamentalism'' where he wrote:
Our union must know no clime boundary or nationality...let us hold together under all climes and in every country...[3]
Garvey and Rastafari
Rastafarians consider Garvey a religious prophet, saint and sometimes even the reincarnation of John the Baptist. This is partly because of his frequent statements uttered in speeches throughout the 1920s, usually along the lines of ''Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned for the day of deliverance is at hand!''[29]
His beliefs deeply influenced the Rastafari, who took his statements as a prophecy of the crowning of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Early Rastas were associated with his Back-to-Africa movement in Jamaica. This early Rastafari movement was also influenced by a separate, proto-Rasta movement known as the Afro-Athlican Church that was outlined in a religious text known as the Holy Piby ?— where Garvey was proclaimed to be a prophet as well. Thus, the Rastafari movement can be seen as an offshoot of Garveyite philosophy. As his beliefs have greatly influenced Rastafari, he is often mentioned in reggae music.
Critical of Haile Selassie I in the wake of the invasion of Ethiopia before World War II, Garvey himself never identified with the Rastafari movement, and was, in fact, raised as a Methodist who went on to become a Roman Catholic.
Knowledge is Power!
