"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey
We travel across the African Diaspora, to recognize Black civil rights activist, Marcus Garvey. Garvey was born in Jamaica in 1887 to a working class family. He entered the working class and after several years began to enter public speaking competitions and traveled abroad. in 1914 he traveled back to Jamaica and formed UNIA, Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Garvey landed in America and continued building his organization. He believed the key to Black liberation was for the Black community to focus on itself and put all efforts into staying segregated. Garvey felt integration would ultimately weaken the Black community by promoting dependence on white society and monies. His views were contrary to other Civil Rights activists at the time and eventually he was shunned and seen as problematic by agreeing with white supremacist organizations on the need for segregation.
Generations later, many Black activist now question whether Garvey's motives were the correct path for the Black community to follow. Integration into white society came at a price, and true equality and equity for Black Americans has still not been achieved. We pay homage to Garvey for his commitment to unifying the Black community.