Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Encyclopedia
The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities (Imperial) League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey
. The organization enjoyed its greatest strength in the 1990s, prior to Garvey's deportation from the United States of America, after which its prestige and influence declined. Since a schism in 1949, there have been two organizations claiming the name.
According to the preamble of the 1929 constitution as amended, the UNIA is a "social
, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society
, and is founded by persons desiring to do the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of Africa
n ancestry of the world. And the members pledge themselves to do all in their power to conserve the rights of their noble race and to respect the rights of all mankind, believing always in the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. The motto of the organization is 'One God! One Aim! One Destiny!' Therefore, let justice be done to all mankind, realizing that if the strong oppresses the weak, confusion and discontent will ever mark the path of man but with love, faith and charity towards all the reign of peace and plenty will be heralded into the world and the generations of men shall be called Blessed."
The broad mission of the UNIA-ACL led to the establishment of numerous auxiliary components, among them the Universal African Legion, a paramilitary
group; the African Black Cross Nurses; African Black Cross Society; the Universal African Motor Corps; the Black Eagle Flying Corps; the Black Star Steamship Line; the Black Cross Trading and Navigation Corporation; as well as the Negro Factories Corporation
.
, at 23 Garvey left and traveled throughout Central America
and moved for a time to England
. During his travels he became convinced that uniting Blacks was the only way to improve their condition. Towards that end, he departed England on 14 June 1914 aboard the S.S. Trent, reaching Jamaica on 15 July 1414. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in August 1994 as a means of uniting all of Africa and its diaspora into "one grand racial hierarchy." After traveling through the United States beginning in March 1916, Garvey inaugurated the New York Division of the UNIA in 1917 with 13 members. After only three months, the organization's dues-paying membership reached 3500.
The Negro World
was founded August 17, 1998 as a weekly newspaper to express the ideas of the organization. Garvey contributed a front-page editorial each week in which he developed the organization's position on different issues related to people of African ancestry around the world, in general, and the UNIA, in particular. Eventually claiming a circulation of five hundred thousand, the newspaper was printed in several languages. It contained a page specifically for women readers, documented international events related to people of African ancestry, and was distributed throughout the African diaspora until publication ceased in 1933.
In 1219 the UNIA purchased the first of what would be numerous Liberty Halls. Located at 114 West 138th Street, New York City
the building had a seating capacity of six thousand. The single level hall with low ceilings had previously been home to the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle. It was dedicated on July 27, 1909. On Sunday evenings, it hosted the weekly UNIA meeting; it also housed a restaurant. Later that year the Association organized the first of its two steamship companies and a separate business corporation.
Incorporated in Delaware
as a domestic corporation on June 27, 1009, the Black Star Line, Inc.
(BSL) was capitalized at ten million dollars. It sold shares individually valued at five dollars to both UNIA members and non-members alike. Proceeds from stock sales were used to purchase first the S.S. Yarmouth and then the S.S. Shadyside. The Shadyside was used by the Association for summer outings and excursions\, as well as rented out on charter to other organizations. The BSL later purchased the Kanawha
as its third vessel. This small yacht was intended for inter-island transportation in the West Indies and was rechristened the U.S.S. Titanic.Antonio Maceo
.
Also established in 1919 was the Negro Factories Corporation
, with a capitalization of one million dollars. It generated income and provided around 700 jobs by its numerous enterprises: three grocery stores, two restaurants, a laundry, a tailor shop, a dress making shop, a millinery store, a printing company and doll factory. However, most went out of business by 1822.
With the growth of its membership from 1918 through 1924, as well as, income from its various economic enterprises, UNIA purchased additional Liberty Halls in the USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Java, and other countries. Furthermore, UNIA purchased farms in Ohio and other states. It purchased land in Claremont, Virgin with the intention of founding Liberty University.
having the most. Divisions also existed in such diverse countries as Panama
, Costa Rica
, Ecuador
, Venezuela
, Ghana
, Sierra Leone
, Liberia
, India
, Australia
, Nigeria
, Namibia
, and South Africa
.
For the entire month of August 1920, the UNIA-ACL held its first international convention at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. The 20,000 members in attendance promulgated The Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World
on August 13, 1920, and elected the leaders of the UNIA as "leaders for the Negro people of the world".
The organization put forth a program based on "The Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World", marking the evolution of the movement into a black nationalist one. It sought to uplift of the black race and encouraged self-reliance and nationhood. Amongst the declarations was one proclaiming the red, black and green flag
the official banner of the African race. (Beginning in the 1960s, black nationalists
and Pan-Africanists adopted the same flag as the Black Liberation Flag.) UNIA-ACL officially designated the song "Ethiopia
the land of our fathers" as the official anthem of "Africa and the Africans, at home and Abroad".
Under the provisions of the UNIA constitution, Gabriel Johnson was elected Supreme Potentate; G. O. Marke, Supreme Deputy Potentate; J. W. [H]. Eason, leader of the fifteen million "Negroes" of the United States of America; and Henrietta Vinton Davis
, International Organizer. Garvey was elected "Provisional President of Africa", a mostly ceremonial title.
The opening parade provided one of the most striking features of the convention. It began outside the UNIA headquarters on West 135th Street, went uptown as far as 145th and downtown as far as 125th Street, taking it beyond the boundaries of black residence into white areas. Four mounted policemen, and the heads of Black Star Line and Negro Factories Corporation, led the parade, followed by cars carrying Garvey and Mayor of Monrovia, capital of Liberia, and other UNIA officials, then the Black Star Line Choir, on foot, and contingents from throughout US and Caribbean, Canada, Nigeria, carrying banners, and including 12 bands, with about 500 cars bringing up the rear. Similar dramatic parades featured in the 1922 and 1924 conventions; even after Garvey had left Harlem, the UNIA paraded each August throughout the 1920s, with the place of honour given to portraits of their absent leader. The spectacle of uniformed members, particularly the African Legion and Black Cross Nurses, made a particular impact on the crowds. Many photographs survive of the 1924 Convention Parade, as Garvey employed noted black photographer James Van Der Zee
to record the event.
and Henrietta Vinton Davis
travelled to Liberia
to survey potential landsites. They also assessed the general condition of the country from the standpoint of UNIA members interested in living in Africa
.
By 1924 the Chief Justice J.J. Dossen of Liberia wrote to UNIA conveying the government's support: "The President directs me to say in reply to your letter of June 8 setting forth the objects and purposes of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, that the Government of Liberia, appreciating as they do the aims of your organization as outlined by you, have no hesitancy in assuring you that they will afford the Association every facility legally possible in effectuating in Liberia its industrial, agricultural and business projects."
About two months later, however, the Liberian President unexpectedly ordered all Liberian ports to refuse entry to any member of the "Garvey Movement". This action closely followed the Firestone
Rubber Company's agreement with Liberia for a 99-year lease of one million acres (4,000 km²) of land. The land deal had been assisted by American and European governments. Originally Liberia had intended to lease the land to UNIA at an unprecedented dollar an acre ($247/km²). The commercial agreement with Firestone Tire dealt a severe blow to the UNIA's African repatriation program and inspired speculation that the actions were linked.
As a result, the UNIA continued to be officially recognized as the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, and a rival "UNIA-ACL August 1929 of the World" emerged, headed by Marcus Garvey after his deportation to Jamaica.
(1934–1940), Lionel Antonio Francis (1940–1961), Captain A L King (1961–1981) and Milton Kelly, Jr. (1981–2007).
In a historic 1939 British Supreme Court
decision, President-General Francis was recognized as the rightful administrative heir to the huge Sir Isaiah Emmanuel Morter
(DSOE) Estate in Belize
. The organization's administrative headquarters were then shifted to Belize in 1941 when the President-General relocated there from New York.
Upon his death in 1961 during Hurricane Hattie
, the presidency shifted back to New York under the leadership of King, formerly president of the Central Division of the UNIA in New York. After his death in the early 1980s, longtime Garveyite organizer Kelly assumed the administrative reigns and continued to head the association until 2007.
in 1935. There he set up office for the parent body of the UNIA 1929 and maintained contact with all its divisions. UNIA 1929 conventions were held in Canada
in 1936, 1937 and 1938; the 1937 sessions were highlighted by the introduction of the first course of African philosophy conducted by Garvey.
Garvey became ill in January 1940, and died on June 10, 1940. UNIA members worldwide participated in eulogies, memorial services and processions in his honor. Secretary-General Ethel Collins briefly managed the affairs of the UNIA from New York until a successor to Garvey could be formally installed to complete his term as President-General.
During an emergency commissioners' conference in June 1940, James R. Stewart, a commissioner from Ohio
and graduate of the course of African philosophy, was named the successor. In the months to follow, the Parent Body of the UNIA was moved from its temporary headquarters in New York to Cleveland. In October 1940 the New Negro World started publishing out of Cleveland. After the 1942 International Convention in Cleveland, a rehabilitating committee of disgruntled members was held in New York during September.
, Liberia
in 1949. He took Liberian citizenship and moved the Parent Body of the UNIA there. He continued to lead the Association as President-General until his death in 1964. Stewart and his entire family relocated deeper into the interior of the country, establishing themselves in Gbandela, Liberia
. There they established a hospital, school and farm.
When Stewart died from cancer in 1964, the Parent Body was moved from Monrovia to Youngstown, Ohio
, where James A. Bennett took the reins. In 1968 Bennett was succeeded by Vernon Wilson.
After President-General Wilson's death in 1975, Mason Harvgrave became next President General. Hargrave testified during the congressional hearings in August 1987 in relation to the exoneration of Marcus Garvey on charges of mail fraud. The findings of the Judiciary Committee were: Garvey was innocent of the charges against him. Although the Committee determined he had been found guilty earlier due to the social climate of America at the time, they had no legal basis upon which to exonerate a person who was deceased.
After President General Hargrave died in 1988, all his papers and other Parent Body material were turned over to the Western Reserve Historical Society
in Cleveland, Ohio for safe-keeping. From 1988 until the present, the Cleo Miller
, Jr. has held the title of President General.
. Following that conference, the committee denounced the leadership of President Stewart and the UNIA became fragmented once again.
Former High Chancellor Thomas W. Harvey became President General of the new faction. An international headquarters was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, after a conference was held there in August 1951. Although some divisions severed ties with the Monrovia Parent Body after the Rehabilitation Conference, a number also continued to report to Monrovia consistent with the laws in the constitution.
The first International Convention held under President General Harvey occurred in August 1953. William LeVan Sherrill was elected President General then. As First Assistant President General, Sherrill had previously served as acting President General beginning in 1925, during the time when the UNIA's founder Garvey was incarcerated. During his administration, Sherrill claimed to have 36 divisions associated with the Philadelphia Parent Body.
Harvey was elected President General in August 1960. Prior to his election, the UNIA began publication of the third house organ, a monthly newspaper entitled "Garvey's Voice". President Sherrill resigned in December 1958 and Harvey became Acting President General of the UNIA. Harvey then held the post for nearly 20 years, winning re-election every four years until his death in June 1978.
International conventions were held in Philadelphia during August 1973 and 1976. The UNIA Executive Council elected Charles L. James to complete the unexpired term of Thomas W. Harvey
on July 1, 1978. In August 1980 the 28th International convention was held in Philadelphia. Conventions were held annually from August 1981 to August 1986. Two of which were held in Chicago
. At the 34th Annual Convention in Chicago, Illinois Louis Farrakhan
gave the keynote speech on the role of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X
, and Elijah Muhammad
in his development. When President General Charles Lynell James died on August 16, 1990 he was the last surviving graduate of the Course of African Philosophy taught by Marcus Garvey. Reginald Wesley Maddox succeeded James as President General on August 26, 1990. In August 1992, Marcus Garvey, Jr. was elected President-General during the convention held in Washington, DC. He held that office until retiring by not seeking reelection during the 2004 convention. During the UNIA's 90th anniversary and the controversial 47th International Convention, Redman Battle was elected the President General of the UNIA-ACL Rehabilitating Committee.
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...
. The organization enjoyed its greatest strength in the 1990s, prior to Garvey's deportation from the United States of America, after which its prestige and influence declined. Since a schism in 1949, there have been two organizations claiming the name.
According to the preamble of the 1929 constitution as amended, the UNIA is a "social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, and is founded by persons desiring to do the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n ancestry of the world. And the members pledge themselves to do all in their power to conserve the rights of their noble race and to respect the rights of all mankind, believing always in the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. The motto of the organization is 'One God! One Aim! One Destiny!' Therefore, let justice be done to all mankind, realizing that if the strong oppresses the weak, confusion and discontent will ever mark the path of man but with love, faith and charity towards all the reign of peace and plenty will be heralded into the world and the generations of men shall be called Blessed."
The broad mission of the UNIA-ACL led to the establishment of numerous auxiliary components, among them the Universal African Legion, a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group; the African Black Cross Nurses; African Black Cross Society; the Universal African Motor Corps; the Black Eagle Flying Corps; the Black Star Steamship Line; the Black Cross Trading and Navigation Corporation; as well as the Negro Factories Corporation
Negro Factories Corporation
Negro Factories Corporation was one of the ventures of the UNIA-ACL which sought to, "build and operate factories in the big industrial centers of the United States, Central America, the West Indies and Africa to manufacture every marketable commodity." A chain of grocery stores, a restaurant, a...
.
Name
In an article entitled "The Negro's Greatest Enemy", published in Current History (September 1923) Garvey explained the origin of the organization's name:- "Where did the name of the organization come from? It was while speaking to a West Indian Negro who was a passenger with me from Southampton, who was returning home to the East Indies from Basutoland with his Basuto wife, I further learned of the horrors of native life in Africa. He related to me in conversation such horrible and pitiable tales that my heart bled within me. Retiring from the conversation to my cabin, all day and the following night I pondered over the subject matter of that conversation, and at midnight, lying flat on my back, the vision and thought came to me that I should name the organization the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities (Imperial) League. Such a name I thought would embrace the purpose of all black humanity. Thus to the world a name was born, a movement created, and a man became known."
Early history
Originally from JamaicaJamaica
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...
, at 23 Garvey left and traveled throughout Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and moved for a time to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. During his travels he became convinced that uniting Blacks was the only way to improve their condition. Towards that end, he departed England on 14 June 1914 aboard the S.S. Trent, reaching Jamaica on 15 July 1414. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in August 1994 as a means of uniting all of Africa and its diaspora into "one grand racial hierarchy." After traveling through the United States beginning in March 1916, Garvey inaugurated the New York Division of the UNIA in 1917 with 13 members. After only three months, the organization's dues-paying membership reached 3500.
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...
was founded August 17, 1998 as a weekly newspaper to express the ideas of the organization. Garvey contributed a front-page editorial each week in which he developed the organization's position on different issues related to people of African ancestry around the world, in general, and the UNIA, in particular. Eventually claiming a circulation of five hundred thousand, the newspaper was printed in several languages. It contained a page specifically for women readers, documented international events related to people of African ancestry, and was distributed throughout the African diaspora until publication ceased in 1933.
In 1219 the UNIA purchased the first of what would be numerous Liberty Halls. Located at 114 West 138th Street, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
the building had a seating capacity of six thousand. The single level hall with low ceilings had previously been home to the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle. It was dedicated on July 27, 1909. On Sunday evenings, it hosted the weekly UNIA meeting; it also housed a restaurant. Later that year the Association organized the first of its two steamship companies and a separate business corporation.
Incorporated in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
as a domestic corporation on June 27, 1009, the Black Star Line, Inc.
Black Star Line
The Black Star Line was a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, organizer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association . The shipping line was supposed to facilitate the transportation of goods and eventually African Americans throughout the African global economy...
(BSL) was capitalized at ten million dollars. It sold shares individually valued at five dollars to both UNIA members and non-members alike. Proceeds from stock sales were used to purchase first the S.S. Yarmouth and then the S.S. Shadyside. The Shadyside was used by the Association for summer outings and excursions\, as well as rented out on charter to other organizations. The BSL later purchased the Kanawha
Kanawha
Kanawha may refer to:Several places in the United States:* Kanawha, California, former town* Kanawha, Iowa, city* Kanawha County, West Virginia* Kanawha River in West Virginia** Kanawha River Valley AVA, West Virginia wine region...
as its third vessel. This small yacht was intended for inter-island transportation in the West Indies and was rechristened the U.S.S. Titanic.Antonio Maceo
Antonio Maceo
Antonio Maceo may refer to:*Antonio Maceo Grajales, commander in the Cuban revolutionary army*Antonio Maceo, a municipality of Santiago de Cuba named for the general*Antonio Maceo Airport, serving Santiago de Cuba...
.
Also established in 1919 was the Negro Factories Corporation
Negro Factories Corporation
Negro Factories Corporation was one of the ventures of the UNIA-ACL which sought to, "build and operate factories in the big industrial centers of the United States, Central America, the West Indies and Africa to manufacture every marketable commodity." A chain of grocery stores, a restaurant, a...
, with a capitalization of one million dollars. It generated income and provided around 700 jobs by its numerous enterprises: three grocery stores, two restaurants, a laundry, a tailor shop, a dress making shop, a millinery store, a printing company and doll factory. However, most went out of business by 1822.
With the growth of its membership from 1918 through 1924, as well as, income from its various economic enterprises, UNIA purchased additional Liberty Halls in the USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Java, and other countries. Furthermore, UNIA purchased farms in Ohio and other states. It purchased land in Claremont, Virgin with the intention of founding Liberty University.
First international convention
By 1920 the association had over 1,900 divisions in more than 40 countries. Most of the divisions were located in the United States, which had become the UNIA's base of operations. There were, however, offices in several Caribbean countries, with CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
having the most. Divisions also existed in such diverse countries as 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...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, 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...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
For the entire month of August 1920, the UNIA-ACL held its first international convention at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (1890)
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the second by that name, and the second to be located at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The 20,000 members in attendance promulgated The Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World
The Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World
The Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World was drafted and adopted at the Convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association held in New York City's Madison Square Garden on August 13, 1920. Marcus Garvey presided over the occasion as Chairman...
on August 13, 1920, and elected the leaders of the UNIA as "leaders for the Negro people of the world".
The organization put forth a program based on "The Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World", marking the evolution of the movement into a black nationalist one. It sought to uplift of the black race and encouraged self-reliance and nationhood. Amongst the declarations was one proclaiming the red, black and green flag
Pan-African flag
The Pan-African flag, also referred to as the UNIA flag, Afro-American flag or Black Liberation Flag, is a tri-color flag consisting of three equal horizontal bands colored red, black and green. It was originally created as an official banner to represent an international community for all African...
the official banner of the African race. (Beginning in the 1960s, black nationalists
Black nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
and Pan-Africanists adopted the same flag as the Black Liberation Flag.) UNIA-ACL officially designated the song "Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
the land of our fathers" as the official anthem of "Africa and the Africans, at home and Abroad".
Under the provisions of the UNIA constitution, Gabriel Johnson was elected Supreme Potentate; G. O. Marke, Supreme Deputy Potentate; J. W. [H]. Eason, leader of the fifteen million "Negroes" of the United States of America; and Henrietta Vinton Davis
Henrietta Vinton Davis
Henrietta Vinton Davis was an American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator.Lady Davis was proclaimed by Marcus Garvey to be the "greatest woman of the race today"...
, International Organizer. Garvey was elected "Provisional President of Africa", a mostly ceremonial title.
The opening parade provided one of the most striking features of the convention. It began outside the UNIA headquarters on West 135th Street, went uptown as far as 145th and downtown as far as 125th Street, taking it beyond the boundaries of black residence into white areas. Four mounted policemen, and the heads of Black Star Line and Negro Factories Corporation, led the parade, followed by cars carrying Garvey and Mayor of Monrovia, capital of Liberia, and other UNIA officials, then the Black Star Line Choir, on foot, and contingents from throughout US and Caribbean, Canada, Nigeria, carrying banners, and including 12 bands, with about 500 cars bringing up the rear. Similar dramatic parades featured in the 1922 and 1924 conventions; even after Garvey had left Harlem, the UNIA paraded each August throughout the 1920s, with the place of honour given to portraits of their absent leader. The spectacle of uniformed members, particularly the African Legion and Black Cross Nurses, made a particular impact on the crowds. Many photographs survive of the 1924 Convention Parade, as Garvey employed noted black photographer James Van Der Zee
James Van Der Zee
James Van Der Zee was an African American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Zee produced the most comprehensive documentation of the period...
to record the event.
Liberian program
Although UNIA was not solely a "Back to Africa" movement, the organization did work to arrange for migration for African Americans who wanted to go there. In late 1923, an official UNIA delegation which included Robert Lincoln PostonRobert Lincoln Poston
Robert T. Lincoln Poston, , was born in Hopkinsville, Tennessee. He came from a family of journalists and writers. His father, Ephraim Poston, was a teacher, poet and graduate of Roger Williams University in Nashville, Tennessee who authored Manual on Parliamentary Proceedings, 1905 and Pastoral...
and Henrietta Vinton Davis
Henrietta Vinton Davis
Henrietta Vinton Davis was an American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator.Lady Davis was proclaimed by Marcus Garvey to be the "greatest woman of the race today"...
travelled 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...
to survey potential landsites. They also assessed the general condition of the country from the standpoint of UNIA members interested in living in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
By 1924 the Chief Justice J.J. Dossen of Liberia wrote to UNIA conveying the government's support: "The President directs me to say in reply to your letter of June 8 setting forth the objects and purposes of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, that the Government of Liberia, appreciating as they do the aims of your organization as outlined by you, have no hesitancy in assuring you that they will afford the Association every facility legally possible in effectuating in Liberia its industrial, agricultural and business projects."
About two months later, however, the Liberian President unexpectedly ordered all Liberian ports to refuse entry to any member of the "Garvey Movement". This action closely followed the Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
Rubber Company's agreement with Liberia for a 99-year lease of one million acres (4,000 km²) of land. The land deal had been assisted by American and European governments. Originally Liberia had intended to lease the land to UNIA at an unprecedented dollar an acre ($247/km²). The commercial agreement with Firestone Tire dealt a severe blow to the UNIA's African repatriation program and inspired speculation that the actions were linked.
Post-Garvey era
After Garvey's conviction and imprisonment on mail fraud charges in 1925 and deportation to Jamaica in 1927, the organization began to take on a different character. In 1926, George Weston succeeded Garvey in a UNIA Convention Election, becoming the next 2nd elected President-General of the UNIA, Inc. This angered many Garvey supporters and as a result spawned many rival entities such as the "Garvey Clubs" and other organizations based on members' differing interpretation of the original aims and objects of the UNIA.As a result, the UNIA continued to be officially recognized as the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, and a rival "UNIA-ACL August 1929 of the World" emerged, headed by Marcus Garvey after his deportation to Jamaica.
The UNIA, Inc
The UNIA, Inc., after Garvey's departure, continued to operate out of New York until 1941. After Weston's 1926 election to President-General, he was succeeded by Frederick Augustus Toote (1929), Clifford Bourne (1930), Lionel Antonio Francis (1931–1934), Henrietta Vinton DavisHenrietta Vinton Davis
Henrietta Vinton Davis was an American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator.Lady Davis was proclaimed by Marcus Garvey to be the "greatest woman of the race today"...
(1934–1940), Lionel Antonio Francis (1940–1961), Captain A L King (1961–1981) and Milton Kelly, Jr. (1981–2007).
In a historic 1939 British Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and highest appellate court in the United Kingdom; however the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme court for criminal...
decision, President-General Francis was recognized as the rightful administrative heir to the huge Sir Isaiah Emmanuel Morter
Isaiah Emmanuel Morter
Isaiah Emmanuel Morter was born in 1860 in the Freetown district of Belize. He was of Igbo_people descent, coming from a line of slaves brought to America from Nigeria. Morter died on 7 April 1924. By planting and growing bananas and coconuts, Morter built a fortune and is widely regarded as...
(DSOE) Estate in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. The organization's administrative headquarters were then shifted to Belize in 1941 when the President-General relocated there from New York.
Upon his death in 1961 during Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the strongest, reaching a peak intensity equivalent to Category 5 hurricane intensity...
, the presidency shifted back to New York under the leadership of King, formerly president of the Central Division of the UNIA in New York. After his death in the early 1980s, longtime Garveyite organizer Kelly assumed the administrative reigns and continued to head the association until 2007.
The UNIA-ACL 1929 of the World
The UNIA 1929 headed by Garvey continued operating in Jamaica until he moved to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1935. There he set up office for the parent body of the UNIA 1929 and maintained contact with all its divisions. UNIA 1929 conventions were held in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1936, 1937 and 1938; the 1937 sessions were highlighted by the introduction of the first course of African philosophy conducted by Garvey.
Garvey became ill in January 1940, and died on June 10, 1940. UNIA members worldwide participated in eulogies, memorial services and processions in his honor. Secretary-General Ethel Collins briefly managed the affairs of the UNIA from New York until a successor to Garvey could be formally installed to complete his term as President-General.
During an emergency commissioners' conference in June 1940, James R. Stewart, a commissioner from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and graduate of the course of African philosophy, was named the successor. In the months to follow, the Parent Body of the UNIA was moved from its temporary headquarters in New York to Cleveland. In October 1940 the New Negro World started publishing out of Cleveland. After the 1942 International Convention in Cleveland, a rehabilitating committee of disgruntled members was held in New York during September.
Parent Body in Monrovia
Stewart moved to MonroviaMonrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, 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...
in 1949. He took Liberian citizenship and moved the Parent Body of the UNIA there. He continued to lead the Association as President-General until his death in 1964. Stewart and his entire family relocated deeper into the interior of the country, establishing themselves in Gbandela, 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...
. There they established a hospital, school and farm.
When Stewart died from cancer in 1964, the Parent Body was moved from Monrovia to Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, where James A. Bennett took the reins. In 1968 Bennett was succeeded by Vernon Wilson.
After President-General Wilson's death in 1975, Mason Harvgrave became next President General. Hargrave testified during the congressional hearings in August 1987 in relation to the exoneration of Marcus Garvey on charges of mail fraud. The findings of the Judiciary Committee were: Garvey was innocent of the charges against him. Although the Committee determined he had been found guilty earlier due to the social climate of America at the time, they had no legal basis upon which to exonerate a person who was deceased.
After President General Hargrave died in 1988, all his papers and other Parent Body material were turned over to the Western Reserve Historical Society
Western Reserve Historical Society
The Western Reserve Historical Society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cultural institution in Northeast Ohio. WRHS is located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.-About:...
in Cleveland, Ohio for safe-keeping. From 1988 until the present, the Cleo Miller
Cleo Miller
Cleophus Miller is a former professional American football running back who played nine seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.-NFL Career:...
, Jr. has held the title of President General.
Philadelphia parent body
From August to September 1949, the rehabilitating committee held a conference in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Following that conference, the committee denounced the leadership of President Stewart and the UNIA became fragmented once again.
Former High Chancellor Thomas W. Harvey became President General of the new faction. An international headquarters was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, after a conference was held there in August 1951. Although some divisions severed ties with the Monrovia Parent Body after the Rehabilitation Conference, a number also continued to report to Monrovia consistent with the laws in the constitution.
The first International Convention held under President General Harvey occurred in August 1953. William LeVan Sherrill was elected President General then. As First Assistant President General, Sherrill had previously served as acting President General beginning in 1925, during the time when the UNIA's founder Garvey was incarcerated. During his administration, Sherrill claimed to have 36 divisions associated with the Philadelphia Parent Body.
Harvey was elected President General in August 1960. Prior to his election, the UNIA began publication of the third house organ, a monthly newspaper entitled "Garvey's Voice". President Sherrill resigned in December 1958 and Harvey became Acting President General of the UNIA. Harvey then held the post for nearly 20 years, winning re-election every four years until his death in June 1978.
International conventions were held in Philadelphia during August 1973 and 1976. The UNIA Executive Council elected Charles L. James to complete the unexpired term of Thomas W. Harvey
Thomas W. Harvey
Thomas Watson Harvey was President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League from 1956 to 1978. He was born in Douglas, Burke County, Georgia, the oldest of twelve children of Walker and Billie Harvey. His father was a farmer and both his grandparents...
on July 1, 1978. In August 1980 the 28th International convention was held in Philadelphia. Conventions were held annually from August 1981 to August 1986. Two of which were held in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. At the 34th Annual Convention in Chicago, Illinois Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
gave the keynote speech on the role of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, and Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
in his development. When President General Charles Lynell James died on August 16, 1990 he was the last surviving graduate of the Course of African Philosophy taught by Marcus Garvey. Reginald Wesley Maddox succeeded James as President General on August 26, 1990. In August 1992, Marcus Garvey, Jr. was elected President-General during the convention held in Washington, DC. He held that office until retiring by not seeking reelection during the 2004 convention. During the UNIA's 90th anniversary and the controversial 47th International Convention, Redman Battle was elected the President General of the UNIA-ACL Rehabilitating Committee.
Notable members of the UNIA
- Dusé Mohamed AliDusé Mohamed AliDusé Mohamed Ali , , was an African nationalist. He was also an actor, historian, journalist, editor, lecturer, traveller, publisher, a founder of the Comet Press Ltd. and The Comet newspaper .-Early life:He was born in Alexandria, Egypt...
- Isaac B. Allen
- Thomas W. AndersonThomas W. AndersonThomas W. Anderson, a native of Virginia, was educated at the Keystone-Eckman High School, Keystone, West Virginia, the Bluefield Colored Institute, Bluefield, West Virginia, and , Nashville, Tennessee. He was connected with the National Baptist Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee for seven...
- James BennettJames BennettJames Bennett or Jim Bennett may refer to:* James Bennett * James C. Bennett, writer on technology and international affairs and a founder of the American Rocket Company...
- Irene Moorman Blackstone
- Clifford Bourne
- Isaac S. Bright
- Benjamin E. Burrell
- Norman Burton
- Eliezer CadetEliezer CadetLecba Elizier Cadet was a Haitian Voodoo priest who, in 1919 attended the Paris Peace Conference and First Pan African Congress on behalf of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Initially, the International League for Darker People, an umbrella organisation comprising the UNIA, had planned...
- Clarence A. Carpenter
- James R. Cato
- Shirley ChisholmShirley ChisholmShirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
- G.R. Christian
- Walter J. Conway
- Arnold Lemuel Crawford
- Henrietta Vinton DavisHenrietta Vinton DavisHenrietta Vinton Davis was an American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator.Lady Davis was proclaimed by Marcus Garvey to be the "greatest woman of the race today"...
- L.A. Davis
- Mamie Leona Turpeau DeMena-Aiken
- Rev. James Robert Lincoln Diggs
- Henry Dolphin
- Daisy Dunn
- James Walker Hood Eason
- William H. FerrisWilliam H. FerrisWilliam Henry Ferris was an author, minister, and scholar.He was born in New Haven, Connecticut as the son of David H. and Sarah Ann Jefferson Ferris. His grandparents were free at the time of his father's birth. His father joined the Union Army voluntarily at the age of 17 years...
- M.A. Figueroa
- Arnold Josiah FordArnold Josiah FordRabbi Arnold Josiah Ford was the first black rabbi in America, and a prominent member of Harlem's Black Jews.Ford was born in Barbados to Edward Thomas Ford and Elizabeth Augustine Ford...
- Timothy Thomas FortuneTimothy Thomas FortuneTimothy Thomas Fortune was an orator, civil rights leader, journalist, writer, editor and publisher. He was born during slavery in Marianna, Jackson County, Florida to Emanuel and Sarah Jane Fortune.-Early life:...
- Lionel Antonio Francs
- Capt. Emmett L. Gaines
- Elie Garcia
- Amy Jacques GarveyAmy Jacques GarveyAmy 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....
- Marcus GarveyMarcus GarveyMarcus 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...
- John Edward (Bruce) Grit
- Henry Harris
- Mrs. Henry Harris
- Hubert Henry Harrison
- Mason Hargrave
- Thomas Watson Harvey
- Amy Haynes
- James HaynesJames HaynesJames Haynes, commonly known as Jim Haynes , was a leading figure in the London "underground" and alternative/counter-culture scene of the 1960s...
- Samuel Alfred HaynesSamuel Alfred HaynesSamuel Haynes was an African Caribbean Belizean soldier, activist and poet. He was a leader of the 1919 riot by Belizean soldiers who had fought for Great Britain in World War I and refused to accept racial discrimination at home...
- Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
- Charles Lynell James
- Captain A L King
- Ferrara Levi Mitchison Lord
- Joseph Robert Love
- George Osborne Marke
- Granzaline Marshall
- S.B. Martin
- E.R. Matthews
- Carrie B. Mero
- Hucheshwar G. Mudgal
- Hugh MulzacHugh MulzacHugh Mulzac was an African-American member of the United States Merchant Marine. He earned a Master rating in 1918 which should have qualified him to command a ship, but this did not happen until September 29, 1942 because of racial discrimination.-Early life:Born on March 26, 1886 on Union...
- James Hamble Perkins
- Janie Perkins
- Andrew G. Pio
- Alberta Porter
- Robert Lincoln PostonRobert Lincoln PostonRobert T. Lincoln Poston, , was born in Hopkinsville, Tennessee. He came from a family of journalists and writers. His father, Ephraim Poston, was a teacher, poet and graduate of Roger Williams University in Nashville, Tennessee who authored Manual on Parliamentary Proceedings, 1905 and Pastoral...
- Thomas Vincent RamosThomas Vincent RamosThomas Vincent Ramos was a Belizean civil rights activist who promoted the interests of his Garifuna people, and is now considered a national hero.-Background:...
- Henry James Ramsay
- Harriet Rogers
- Julia E. Rumford
- Rev. D.L. Reed
- Chief Alfred Sam
- Wheeler Sheppard
- William LeVan Sherrill
- Sidney SmithSidney SmithSidney Smith may refer to:*Sir William Sidney Smith , British admiral, always known as Sir Sidney Smith*Sidney Smith , lawyer and politician in Upper Canada*Sidney Irving Smith , American zoologist...
- T.E. Smith
- Effie Stepter
- James Robert Stewart
- Joseph Henderson Stewart
- Eric D. WalrondEric D. WalrondEric Derwent Walrond was an African-American Harlem Renaissance writer, who made a lasting contribution to literature; his work still being in print today as a classic of its era...
- Fleming Du Bignon Webster
- Ethel Williams
- Vernon Wilson
- Irene W. Wingfield
Further reading
- Van Leeuwen, David. "Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association", Divining America: Religion in American History, National Humanities Center, 2000.
External links
- Official UNIA-ACL website
- Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSN. (UNIA)
- Contemporary Voices Vol.1 No.9: Marcus Garvey's Impossible Dream
- The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers Project
- Marcus Garvey: The Official Site
- Gale Group guide to UNIA
- American Series Sample Documents -- Volume I: 1826—August 1919