born Aug. 17, 1887, St. Ann's Bay, Jam.
died June 10, 1940, London, Eng.
Jamaican-born U.S. black-nationalist leader.
In 1914 he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association ; after moving to the U.S. in 1916, he established branches in New York's Harlem and other black neighbourhoods in the North. By 1919 the rising "Black Moses" claimed a following of about two million, to whom he spoke of a "new Negro," proud of being black. His newspaper, Negro World (1919–33), advocated an independent black economy within the framework of white capitalism, and he established black-run businesses, including the Black Star shipping line. In 1920 he convened an international convention to unify blacks and encourage trade between Africa and the U.S. His influence declined rapidly when he was indicted in 1922 for mail fraud. After he had served two years in prison, his sentence was commuted and he was deported (1927). His movement, the first important black-nationalist movement in the U.S., soon died out.
Marcus Garvey, 1922.
UPI