Marcus Garvey the Activist
Marcus Garvey was born in 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica - he had a vision that stretched far beyond the island where he was raised. Garvey believed that Black people deserved power, and on their own terms. He created bold initiatives which unified and connected Black people, encouraging economic independence whilst instilling a sense of pride. During his lifetime Garvey lived, and promoted his initiatives in the Caribbean, the US and the UK.
In 1914 he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) - the aim was to build a global network of Black excellence.
The UNIA had over six million members across the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. A mammoth achievement - all well before social media!
Garvey launched Black-owned businesses, including the Negro Factories Corporation and the Black Star Line, a shipping company designed to connect Black people across the globe, and lay the foundation for repatriation to Africa. He really was about shifting mindsets. Garvey also published newspapers and ran schools. Some people loved him and some didn’t - some people saw him as a controversial figure, either way he could never be ignored.
However Garvey’s pro Black stance drew widespread attention, he was targeted by the FBI, arrested on shaky trumped up charges and deported from the U.S (Marcus Garvey received a pardon from President Joe Biden in 2025)
During the 1930's to his death Garvey lived in London, where he continued the work of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He still believed in a better world built by and for Black people. He’d often speak at the famous Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, calling out colonialism, racism, and the systems built to keep Black people down.
Marcus Garvey died in London in 1940, was just 52 years of age.