Marcus Aurelius Garvey was born in Jamaica.
He was one of the founders of the Black Nationalist
movement in the early twentieth century. He started
the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), the
first modern Black Nationalist organization, in 1914.
The UNIA attracted thousands of supporters and at its
peak. It ran into problems around 1917 and Garvey moved
to New York where his motto was ‘Race First.’
He believed that whites were so racist that it would
be a waste of time appealing to them. He said that American
Blacks should move back to Africa and build their own
nation where they could be proud of their African heritage.
Subject to investigation for his radical
politics, he was later convicted for mail fraud in connection
with his failed Black Star Shipping Line that ran between
the US, the Caribbean and Africa. In 1922 Garvey and
other officials of the Black Star Line were arrested
and imprisoned. Two years later he received a pardon
and was deported to Jamaica. He carried out his activities
in London until he died in 1940.
