Marcus Garvey: August 17, 1887

Jet, August 19, 1996

August 17, 1887 --

Marcus Garvey, orator, organizer and Black nationalist, was born on this day in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica. During the 1920s he turned the world of Black America upside down with his messages of self-help and self-pride. He led a back-to-Africa movement, where he encouraged Blacks to return to the Motherland and redeem it from European colonialism. His movement helped to promote the positive message that Black is beautiful. Garvey's oratories attracted thousands of Blacks to his Universal Negro Improvement Association. He died June 10, 1940.