As we refocus our attention on the power of unity and in honor of his birthday, August 17, 1887, we celebrate Marcus Garvey, a political activist, journalist, entrepreneur and leader of the Black Nationalist and Pan-Africanist Movement. Over 100 years ago, in 1920, Marcus Garvey knew that #BlackLivesMatter! So today we claim August 17th as Marcus Garvey Day!
Marcus Garvey is celebrated because he encouraged a sense of pride, unity and self-worth among Africans and the African diaspora in the 1920’s, amid widespread poverty, discrimination, and colonialism. He was a visionary who sought the end of European colonial rule and was one of the strongest voices of Black Nationalism in history. In 1916, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, commonly known as UNIA) in Harlem, New York City when he moved to the U.S. from Jamaica at 29 years old. He also founded the Negro World newspaper and a shipping company called the Black Star Line. He is Jamaica s first National Hero, where he was finally laid to rest in 1964.
Marcus Garvey’s ideas exerted a considerable influence on such movements as Rastafari, the Nation of Islam, the Black Power Movement, the #BankBlack and #BuyBlack Movements and #BlackOutDay2020
Famous Quotes from Marcus Garvey:
“We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for though others may free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is our only ruler; sovereign.”
“Do not remove the kinks from your hair – remove them from your brain.”
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
“Intelligence rules the world, ignorance carries the burden…”
“The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is mightier than them both put together.”
“You at this time can only be destroyed by yourselves, from within and not from without. You have reached the point where the victory is to be won from within and can only be lost from within.”
