Amy Ashwood Garvey
Encyclopedia
Amy Ashwood Garvey was a Jamaica
n Pan-Africanist activist and the first wife of Marcus Garvey
.
Garvey was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, she spent some years living in Panama
. As a child, she was told by grandmother that she was of Ashanti descent. She returned to Jamaica as a teen and attended Westwood High School in Trelawney, where she met Marcus Garvey , with whom she founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914. She organised a women's section of the UNIA, and in 1918, she moved to the United States
, where she worked as Garvey's aide and as Secretary of the UNIA's New York
branch. She and Marcus Garvey married on 25 December 1919, but the marriage quickly broke down, ending in divorce in 1922. There followed lawsuits and counter suits for annulment, divorce, alimony and bigamy. Garvey divorced Ashwood in Missouri
in 1922 and quickly married Amy Jacques
, Ashwood's former roommate and maid of honor. Marcus Garvey accused Ashwood of infidelity, theft, alcoholism and laziness. Amy Ashwood reportedly never accepted the divorce and contended to the end of her days that she was the "real" Mrs. Garvey.
Ashwood became a director of the Black Star Line Steamship Corporation, and founded the Negro World
newspaper. She moved to Great Britain, where she struck up a friendship with Ladipo Solanke
. Together, they founded the Nigerian Progress Union, and she later supported Solanke's West African Students' Union
, but in 1924 she returned to New York, where she produced comedies with her companion, Sam Manning, a Trinidadian calypso singer who was one of the world's pioneering black recording artists. Among the productions was Brown Sugar
, a jazz musical production at the Lafayette Theater
, which featured Manning and Fats Waller
and his band.
In 1934, she returned to London, and with Manning, she opened the Florence Mills Social Club
a jazz club on Carnaby Street
which became a gathering spot for supporters of Pan-Africanism. She helped to establish the International African Service Bureau
and the London Afro-Women's Centre. She returned to New York and then Jamaica, where she was affiliated with J.A.G. Smith's political activities. In 1944, she again returned to New York, where she joined the West Indies National Council and the Council on African Affairs
, and also campaigned for Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
She chaired the first session of the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester in 1945. In 1946, Ashwood moved to Liberia
for three years, where she began a relationship with the country's president, William Tubman
. She then returned to London, helping to set up the Afro Peoples Centre in Ladbroke Grove
in 1953. In the wake of the Notting Hill riots in 1958
, she co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. In 1959, she chaired an enquiry into race relations following the murder of Kelso Cochrane
in London, before returning to Africa in 1960. She later toured the Americas. She died in 1969, aged 72.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n Pan-Africanist activist and the first wife of Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
.
Garvey was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, she spent some years living in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. As a child, she was told by grandmother that she was of Ashanti descent. She returned to Jamaica as a teen and attended Westwood High School in Trelawney, where she met Marcus Garvey , with whom she founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914. She organised a women's section of the UNIA, and in 1918, she moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she worked as Garvey's aide and as Secretary of the UNIA's New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
branch. She and Marcus Garvey married on 25 December 1919, but the marriage quickly broke down, ending in divorce in 1922. There followed lawsuits and counter suits for annulment, divorce, alimony and bigamy. Garvey divorced Ashwood in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
in 1922 and quickly married Amy Jacques
Amy Jacques Garvey
Amy Euphemia Jacques Garvey was the second wife of Marcus Garvey, and a journalist and activist in her own right. She was born to George Samuel and Charlotte Henrietta Jacques, in Kingston, Jamaica....
, Ashwood's former roommate and maid of honor. Marcus Garvey accused Ashwood of infidelity, theft, alcoholism and laziness. Amy Ashwood reportedly never accepted the divorce and contended to the end of her days that she was the "real" Mrs. Garvey.
Ashwood became a director of the Black Star Line Steamship Corporation, and founded the Negro World
Negro World
Negro World was a weekly newspaper, established in January 1918 in New York City, which served as the voice of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, an organization founded by Marcus Garvey in 1914...
newspaper. She moved to Great Britain, where she struck up a friendship with Ladipo Solanke
Ladipo Solanke
Ladipo Solanke was a political activist who campaigned on West African issues.Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, as Oladipo Felix Solanke, he studied at the Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone before moving to study law at University College, London in 1922.In Britain, Solanke joined the Union of Students...
. Together, they founded the Nigerian Progress Union, and she later supported Solanke's West African Students' Union
West African Students' Union
The West African Students' Union was an association of students from various West African countries who were studying in the United Kingdom.-Origins:...
, but in 1924 she returned to New York, where she produced comedies with her companion, Sam Manning, a Trinidadian calypso singer who was one of the world's pioneering black recording artists. Among the productions was Brown Sugar
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
, a jazz musical production at the Lafayette Theater
Lafayette Theatre (Harlem)
The Lafayette Theatre, also known as "the House Beautiful," was an entertainment venue located at 132nd Street and 7th Avenue in Harlem, New York. It was the first New York theater to desegregate, as early as 1912. Here, African-American theatergoers were allowed to sit in orchestra seats instead...
, which featured Manning and Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
and his band.
In 1934, she returned to London, and with Manning, she opened the Florence Mills Social Club
Florence Mills
Florence Mills, born Florence Winfrey , known as the "Queen of Happiness," was an African American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty.-Life and career:A daughter of former enslaved parents, Nellie and John...
a jazz club on Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kingdom, located in the Soho district, near Oxford Street and Regent Street. It is home to numerous fashion and lifestyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques...
which became a gathering spot for supporters of Pan-Africanism. She helped to establish the International African Service Bureau
International African Service Bureau
The International African Service Bureau was a pan-African organisation founded in London in 1937 by West Indians George Padmore, C. L. R. James, T. Ras Makonnen and Sierra Leonian labor activist and agitator I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson.Chris Braithwaite, aka Jones, was Secretary of this...
and the London Afro-Women's Centre. She returned to New York and then Jamaica, where she was affiliated with J.A.G. Smith's political activities. In 1944, she again returned to New York, where she joined the West Indies National Council and the Council on African Affairs
Council on African Affairs
The Council on African Affairs , until 1941 called the International Committee on African Affairs , was a volunteer organization founded in 1937. It emerged as the leading voice of anti-colonialism and Pan-Africanism in the United States and internationally before Cold War anti-communism and...
, and also campaigned for Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
She chaired the first session of the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester in 1945. In 1946, Ashwood moved to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
for three years, where she began a relationship with the country's president, William Tubman
William Tubman
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th President of Liberia from 1944 until his death in 1971....
. She then returned to London, helping to set up the Afro Peoples Centre in Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove is a road in west London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is also sometimes the name given informally to the immediate area surrounding the road. Running from Notting Hill in the south to Kensal Green in the north, it is located in North Kensington and straddles...
in 1953. In the wake of the Notting Hill riots in 1958
Kelso Cochrane
Kelso Cochrane was an Antiguan immigrant to Britain whose unsolved murder sparked tensions in London.Cochrane had moved to London in 1954, where he had settled in Notting Hill and worked as a carpenter. He aimed to save sufficient money to study law. After fracturing his thumb in a work accident,...
, she co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. In 1959, she chaired an enquiry into race relations following the murder of Kelso Cochrane
Kelso Cochrane
Kelso Cochrane was an Antiguan immigrant to Britain whose unsolved murder sparked tensions in London.Cochrane had moved to London in 1954, where he had settled in Notting Hill and worked as a carpenter. He aimed to save sufficient money to study law. After fracturing his thumb in a work accident,...
in London, before returning to Africa in 1960. She later toured the Americas. She died in 1969, aged 72.
Sources
- Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Darlene Clark Hine. Copyright 1993, Carlson Publishing Inc., Brooklyn, New York; ISBN 0-926019-61-9