Until 20th century
Britain, North America and the West Indies
Marcus Garvey was a prominent Pan-Africanist leader whose Universal Negro Improvement Association became the only mass-supported organisation in the history of Pan-Africanism up to that time. By 1940, the organisation had fragmented and Garvey, living in London, was in declining health and poverty, but his influence on racial self-reliance and African political consciousness remained widely recognised.
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The Story
In the opening months of 1940, Marcus Garvey was dying in London. His political legacy was inseparable from the Universal Negro Improvement Association, described as the only mass-supported organisation in the history of Pan-Africanism up to that time. By then, however, the association had divided into mutually hostile fragments, while most of Garvey’s remaining supporters were in North America and the West Indies.
Garvey’s final years were marked by poverty, declining spirits and increasing distance from younger Pan-African activists in Britain. The Black Man, the magazine to which he devoted much of his later life, appeared at increasingly irregular intervals and ceased publication in June 1939. His career nevertheless continued to attract tributes that recognised its unusual character and achievements.
The assessments quoted in the extract emphasised Garvey’s capacity to unite large numbers of people of African descent around a common objective. Duse Mohamed Ali argued that Garvey had altered the economic and political consciousness of Africans throughout the world and had strengthened the desire for racial self-reliance and self-dependence.
Until 20th century
Britain, North America and the West Indies
Marcus Garvey was a prominent Pan-Africanist leader whose Universal Negro Improvement Association became the only mass-supported organisation in the history of Pan-Africanism up to that time. By 1940, the organisation had fragmented and Garvey, living in London, was in declining health and poverty, but his influence on racial self-reliance and African political consciousness remained widely recognised.
Continue exploring
The Story
In the opening months of 1940, Marcus Garvey was dying in London. His political legacy was inseparable from the Universal Negro Improvement Association, described as the only mass-supported organisation in the history of Pan-Africanism up to that time. By then, however, the association had divided into mutually hostile fragments, while most of Garvey’s remaining supporters were in North America and the West Indies.
Garvey’s final years were marked by poverty, declining spirits and increasing distance from younger Pan-African activists in Britain. The Black Man, the magazine to which he devoted much of his later life, appeared at increasingly irregular intervals and ceased publication in June 1939. His career nevertheless continued to attract tributes that recognised its unusual character and achievements.
The assessments quoted in the extract emphasised Garvey’s capacity to unite large numbers of people of African descent around a common objective. Duse Mohamed Ali argued that Garvey had altered the economic and political consciousness of Africans throughout the world and had strengthened the desire for racial self-reliance and self-dependence.