Meet Marcus Garvey: The Man Whose Crusade United Africans Worldwide. He is one of the greatest figures of African liberation and the custodial hero of Pan-African-ism.

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Marcus Mosiah Garvey, born August 17th of 1887 at St Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, was one of two surviving children, out of 11 children born to his parents. His father who was a literate Christian passed on the value of reading to him and as early as 14,

he already worked at a printing press & had already developed the passion to fight injustice and inequality. In 1907, Marcus Garvey took part in the first strikes of the printing press union, got blacklisted and dismissed. Garvey left to work at Central America and South America,

only to realize the dehumanizing state that Blacks and those from the West Indies were subjected to. In this regard, he said “The Negro is marginalized everywhere and forcibly maintained at the bottom of the social ladder of humanity, as a result of the color of their skin.

Without the least consideration, neither for his human qualities or what could be his intelligence or his gifts. Nowhere does the Negro enjoy the least human dignity, everywhere, he is a serf, a slave.”

Marcus Garvey was spurred by his discovery, organized Black workers, and spoke up through disputant Newspaper publications. This would later lead to his extradition to Jamaica by Costa Rican authorities, he, however, continued his activism.

Marcus would later leave for London, where he thought he would have more impact, speaking on the streets. He was motivated by a book; “Up from Slavery”, written by African-American activist, Booker .T. Washington.

He became sure that what the black world needed was scientific and economic emancipation.

Garvey became burdened with the situation that Africans were subjected to by the colonizers in Africa. This was as a result of his contact with some Africans who were in the Black Continent. He studied law and philosophy and stayed under the teachings of Black Egyptian,

Dusé Ali Muhammad who taught him the basics of African history. Under Dusé’s tutelage, Garvey would learn that Egypt and Carthage civilizations were Black civilizations, and about how Africa governed and ruled the world for 3,000 years.

Armed with this knowledge, and African historical consciousness, new ideas were born. This gave rise to the realization of the UNIA-ACL, Universal Association for the Advancement of the Negro League of the African Community.