Today is what would’ve been Marcus Garvey’s 122nd birthday. Although liberal black nationalists have incorporated his Pan-African perspective into their philosophy, they have willfully neglected the fact that Mr. Garvey – who was an admirer of Booker T. Washington – was a staunch capitalist. Back in 1997, Elizabeth Wright had a newsletter called Issues & Views, which highlighted the Jamaican-born leader’s work. Here’s an excerpt: “It is hard to describe briefly all that Garvey accomplished because so much of what he left behind lay in intangible precepts that eventually touched millions. The major vehicle he founded was the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Unique in itself, UNIA was a sort of mass fraternal organization that promoted commerce and industry among blacks, while providing practical instruction and skills, and advocating responsible, moral behavior. (Its goals were among the noblest: ‘To establish educational and industrial colleges for the further education and culture of our boys and girls; To conduct a worldwide commercial and industrial intercourse; To rescue the fallen from the pit of infamy and vice.’) At the height of its influence, UNIA had branches in the United States, West Indies, Central America and Africa. Its membership numbered in the millions. Members of UNIA were motivated by pride of race and a commitment to work for the uplift of blacks around the world. Another project, the Negro Factories Corporation, a chain of businesses in Harlem, was formed with the hope of making UNIA a self-reliant entity.

Continue Reading at Booker Rising – Honoring Garvey For The Right Reasons