Negro with a Hat
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5 Garvey Papers, VI, pp. 96–98.
6 Clarke, pp. 191–192.
7 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 12.
8 Garvey Papers, VI, p. 517.
9 New York Amsterdam News, March 1927.
10 Ovington, pp. 18–19.
11 Garvey Papers, VI, p. 380.
12 Ibid, p. 271.
13 Ibid, p. 166.
14 Jacques, p. 166.
15 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 517.
16 Ibid, p. 166.
17 Ibid, p. 164.
18 Ibid, p. 450.
19 Ibid, p. 275.
20 Ibid, p. 431.
21 Ibid, p. 438.
22 Ibid, p. 464.
23 Daily Gleaner, 19 December 1926.
24 Hill and Bair, p. 117.
25 Garvey Papers, VI, p. 561.
26 Baltimore Afro-American, 13 August 1927.
27 Garvey Papers, VI, p. 553.
28 New Republic, 31 August 1927.
29 Garvey Papers, VI, pp. 607, 608.
30 New York Times, 3 December 1927.
17. Silence Mr Garvey
INTERVIEWS AND CORRESPONDENCE: Dr Julius Garvey, Robert Hill, Mariamne Samad, Edward Seaga, Judith Stein. SOURCES: BBC Radio 4, Up You Mighty Race – A Centenary Celebration of Marcus Garvey, 5 August 1987. PUBLICATIONS: Black Man, 3 November 1938; Chicago Defender, 10 December, 1927; John Henrik Clarke, Marcus Garvey and his Vision of Africa; Daily Gleaner, 11 February 1925, 2 August 1929, 31 January 1930, February 1930; Nancy Cunard, The Negro: An Anthology, 1934; Flair magazine, 17 August 1987; Robert Hill, Garvey Papers; Robert Hill and Barbara Bair (eds.), Marcus Garvey, Life and Lessons; Amy Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, Portrait of a Liberator; Jamaica Journal, Quarterly of the Institute of Jamaica, August–October, 1987; David Levering Lewis, When Harlem was in Vogue; Negro World, 22 October 1927, 14 January 1928, November 1928; New Jamaican, 8 April 1933; New York Age, 24 November 1934
1 Chicago Defender, 10 December 1927.
2 BBC Radio 4.
3 Daily Gleaner, 11 February 1925. See also Jamaica Journal, 1987, pp. 58–65.
4 Garvey Papers, VII, pp. 23–24.
5 Ibid, p. 41.
6 Ibid, p. 35.
7 Ibid, p. 43.
8 Ibid, p. 61.
9 Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, p. 190.
10 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 45. See also Jacques, p. 190.
11 Daily Gleaner, 23 December 1927.
12 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 84.
13 Jamaica Journal, 1987, pp. 73–76.
14 Negro World, 14 January 1928.
15 Ibid, 22 October 1927.
16 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 304.
17 Ibid, pp. 145–146.
18 Meriweather Walker, Governor, Panama Canal Zone, to Dwight Davis, Secretary of War, 9 December 1927. Printed in Garvey Papers, VII, pp. 9–10.
19 Ibid, p. 136.
20 Ibid, p. 275.
21 Ibid, p. 184. ‘gartered flunkeys’ from Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, p. 191.
22 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 186. ‘… Auxiliary formed for them’, from Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, p. 192.
23 Negro World, November 1928. See also Garvey Papers, VII, p. 279.
24 Jacques, p. 193.
25 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 248.
26 Ibid, p. 267.
27 Ibid, p. 288.
28 ‘Garvey’s Niece Remembers’, Flair magazine, Monday 17 August 1987, pp. 12–13.
29 Black Man, 3 November 1938.
30 Daily Gleaner, 2 August 1929.
31 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 316.
32 Ibid, p. 333.
33 Ibid, p. 364.
34 Daily Gleaner, 1 February 1930.
35 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 368.
36 Ibid, p. 309. See also New York Age, 24 November 1934.
37 Ibid, p. 145.
38 Daily Gleaner, 31 January 1930.
39 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 503.
40 Clarke, p. 282.
41 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 414.
42 Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, pp. 222–223.
43 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 453.
44 Ibid, p. 365.
45 Ibid, p. 538.
46 New Jamaican, 8 April 1933. See also Hill and Bair (introduction), p. xxxiii.
47 Jacques, Garvey and Garveyism, p. 231.
48 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 614.
49 BBC Radio 4.
18. Gone to Foreign
INTERVIEWS: Robert Hill, Rupert Lewis, Mariamne Samad. SOURCES: Diary entry of Ralph Bunche, Howard University, Washington, DC; Garvey’s speech at Menelik Hall, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada 1 October 1937. PUBLICATIONS: Amy Ashwood, Portrait of a Liberator; Black Man, July 1935, July–August 1937; Chicago Defender, 18 May 1940; Daily Gleaner, 10 June 1935; Robert Hill, Garvey Papers; Amy Jacques, Garvey & Garveyism; C. L. R. James, The Black Jacobins; Rupert Lewis, Garvey, Anti-Colonial Champion; Claude McKay, Harlem: Negro Metropolis; New York Amsterdam News, 30 January 1937; Joel A. Rogers, Additional Facts on Marcus Garvey, Negroes of New York Writers’ Program, New York, 1939; Sunday Guardian, 29 August 1937; Time magazine, November 1934; West Indian Crusader, London, 27 November 1937
1 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 652.
2 Daily Gleaner, 10 June 1935.
3 Marcus Garvey to Vivian Durham, 18 January 1938. Printed in Garvey Papers, VII, p. 817.
4 Time magazine, November 1934.
5 Black Man, June 1935.
6 Black Man, October 1935.
7 Rogers, 7.
8 Black Man, July 1935.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Black Man, July–August 1936.
13 Black Man, March–April, 1937.
14 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 741.
15 McKay, p. 175–176.
16 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 663.
17 Chicago Defender, 18 May 1940
18 Diary entry of Ralph Bunche.
19 Jacques, pp. 236–237.
20 Garvey’s speech at Menelik Hall, Nova Scotia. The reggae singer, Bob Marley was impressed and borrowed elements of the speech for ‘Redemption Song’. Along with many Rastafarians, Marley revered Marcus Garvey. The origins of that reverence date back to the coronation of Haile Selassie and an article Garvey wrote, eulogising Selassie on 8 November 1930 in his Jamaican paper, Blackman (later replaced by Black Man). The article, often referred to in Rastafarian circles as ‘The Prophecy’, concludes: ‘The Psalmist prophesied that Princes would come out of Egypt and Ethiopia would stretch forth her hands unto God. We have no doubt that the time is now come. Ethiopia is now really stretching forth her hands. This great kingdom of the East has been hidden for many centuries, but gradually she is rising to take a leading place in the world and it is for us of the Negro race to assist in every way to hold up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari.’
21 Sunday Guardian, 29 August 1937. Quoted also in Lewis, p. 271.
22 West Indian Crusader, London, 27 November 1937.
23 Jacques, pp. 245–248.
24 Ibid, pp. 248–249.
25 Ibid, p. 250.
26 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 901.
27 Ibid, pp. 926–927.
28 New York Amsterdam News, 30 January 1937.
29 Ashwood, p. 295.
30 Ibid, p. 297.
31 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 930.
32 Ibid, p. 935.
33 Ibid, p. 936.
34 Ibid, Appendix XII, p. 1003.
35 Ashwood, p. 298.
Epilogue
INTERVIEWS: Robert Hill, Mariamne Samad. PUBLICATIONS: Robert Hill, Garvey Papers; C. L. R. James, A History of Negro Revolt; David Levering Lewis, W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919; Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana: Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah; Joel A. Rogers, World’s Great Men of Colour, Vol. 2
1 Garvey Papers, VII, p. 948. Garvey’s memorial service on 21 July 1940 was organised by Bishop Edward Collins of the Coptic Church.
2 Garvey Papers, VII, pp. 950–953.
3 Nkrumah, p. 37. ‘Garvey the source’, Adu B
oahen quoted in Lewis, p. 568.
4 Burning Spear, ‘Old Marcus Garvey’, from the album Marcus Garvey/ Garvey’s Ghost.
5 Interview with Samad, November 2005.
6 James, p. 69. C. L. R James believed Garvey was, ‘an opportunist to the bone … but the Negroes wanted a lead and they took the first that was offered them’.
7 Rogers, pp. 429, 427.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Marcus Garvey seemed a distant and mythic figure during my childhood. That all changed a decade ago when I made a radio documentary with my mother, Ethlyn, on her return to Jamaica. Negotiating the back streets of Kingston, she was fired by memories of the UNIA processions and the great outpouring of grief and affection that had followed the passing of this extraordinary and idiosyncratic man. I owe the telling of his story to Ethlyn.
Jo Alderson should be singled out for her attentiveness and enthusiasm for the project; and my children, Jasmine, Maya and Toby for embracing the Garvey story.
Splendid and thorough research was carried out by Sonia Grant. Viv Adams drove me on with his witty provocations. Friends who read and made suggestions to early drafts include: Maggie Gee, Nick Rankin, Gabriel Gbadamosi, Hilary Alderson and Emma Dyer.
I was especially delighted to meet Dr Julius Garvey who gave unique insights into the UNIA Movement and the legacy of his father.
The exemplary Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers have proved to be vital in the construction of this book. It was hugely beneficial to interview Robert Hill, the editor of the Papers, and to be exposed to the knowledge that he has accumulated over several decades of assiduous research. I am also grateful to Robert Hill for inviting me to California to read the rare copy of the unpublished manuscript of Garvey’s first wife, Amy Ashwood.
Philippe Bourgois and Ronald Harpelle were extraordinarily generous in sharing the rich collection of correspondence from the United Fruit Company and other primary source material. I would like to thank all of the other friends, writers and researchers who have given me their time. They include: Hakim Adi, Ralph Crowder, Howard Dodson, Jeffrey Green, Cecil Gutmore, Rupert Lewis, Joy Lumsden, Mariamne Samad, Edward Seaga and Patrick Walsh.
Vivian Crawford and colleagues at the Institute of Jamaica have been particularly helpful and supportive. Early on I was fortunate to stumble across the Marcus Garvey Library in north London; the librarians Lee Francis and Selma Ibrahim have carefully steered me towards their exhaustive collection of books on Garvey. The staff at the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture in New York, and at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee all deserve my praise.
The production of Negro with a Hat has been a thrilling process and for that I have to thank especially my astute and clear-eyed editor, Ellah Allfrey. Finally, my agent, Kevin Conroy-Scott, has been a great enthusiast and shrewd judge of character and story; his indomitable spirit has carried this book forward.
After the Earthquake. Harbour Street in Kingston, Jamaica, 14 January 1907.
Small-holding tenant farmers in the Jamaican countryside, c. 1909.
Jamaican construction workers on the Panama Canal, 1913.
Marcus Garvey on his wedding day, 25 December 1919.
Edward Wilmot Blyden (1894), African scholar, Liberian politician and author of Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race.
Joseph Robert Love was born in the Bahamas and migrated to Jamaica in 1884. He was the editor of the Jamaican Advocate and an early mentor of Garvey.
Duse Mohamed Ali, theatrical impresario, proprietor of the African Times and Orient Review. Ali later worked for Garvey in the UNIA as Head of African Affairs.
Asa Philip Randolph, Harlem street orator and co-editor of the Messenger. He was credited with stepping down from his soap-box and inviting Garvey to speak to the Harlem masses for the very first time in 1917.
Amy Ashwood, c. 1920.
Hubert Henry Harrison (c. 1920), Virgin Island-born scholar and ‘grandfather’ of the Harlem street orators. He was affectionately known as the ‘Black Socrates’.
A cartoon in the Crisis, March 1920, depicting the Great Migration of Southern African-Americans to Northern conurbations, a move fuelled in part by fear of the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings and other brutalities.
An African-American family just arrived in Chicago from the rural South, 1922. One of the hundreds of thousands of families who moved to the North.
Marcus Garvey as president of the Black Star Line, 1920.
A regular drill of the UNIA Women’s Brigade, 1924.
Office of the monthly magazine, the Crisis (‘A Record of the Darker Races’). W. E. B. Du Bois, the editor and rival of Marcus Garvey, stands at the back on the right.
Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute and premier African-American leader known as the ‘Wizard’ because of his rare ability to disarm the authorities and secure patronage from white benefactors.
A film still from D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, depicting the Ku Klux Klan. The film was held to be responsible for the massive surge in the membership of the KKK after its release in 1915.
Children at the head of the silent march of 10,000 demonstrators down 5th Avenue. The NAACP organised the procession to protest against the murder of African-Americans during the East St Louis riots of July 1917.
Liberty Hall, site of the first month-long Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World, August 1920.