Marcus Garvey: The Life and Legacy of the Jamaican Political Leader Who Championed Pan-Africanism

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Dan Gallagher

After the Civil War, the fight for civil rights spawned a multitude of heroic African American activists, but it is remembered in large part for the work of a few iconic African American men of stature. Much like their later counterparts, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, the debate between gradual integration through temporary accommodation and overtly insistent activism was led by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Through the last years of the 19th century, Washington’s gentler approach of enhancing Black prospects through vocational education, largely accomplished with white permission and funds, seemed the popular choice. His legacy can be sensed in King’s subsequent willingness to extend an olive branch to white Americans in a sense of unity, although Washington’s propensity for accommodation held no place in King’s ministry.

Ultimately, however, the vision that oversaw the creation of the Tuskegee Institute faded in the early 20th century as Black intellectualism and stiffening resolve came to the fore. This side’s greatest proponent, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, still stands among the greatest and most controversial minds of any Black leader in his country. The first African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard University, Du Bois rose to become one of the most important social thinkers of his time in a 70-year career of combined scholarship, teaching, and activism.

The third and most improbable approach toward American civil rights for Black citizens blended the beliefs of Washington and Du Bois, and it was spearheaded by global activist Marcus Aurelius Garvey. The Jamaican began his career as an activist with a devotion to Washington’s path, but he subsequently leaned to the alternative and beyond. Beyond the worldview of both colleagues, Marcus Garvey’s bigger-than-life scheme was to establish a Black-owned and managed shipping line to transport much of America’s Black population back to Africa. Repatriation of Black residents to the African continent had been proposed and debated before, even by Abraham Lincoln, but Garvey’s second and equally prodigious vision proposed that once the African diaspora returned to its homeland, an immense empire would assume rule over the continent, housing Black cultures from around the globe. This realization of racial segregation would be a boon to Black and White societies, at peace but thriving in distinctly separate cultures and economies from the white world.

©2018 Charles River Editors (P)2018 Charles River Editors

A good read, prepare yourself

I like how this book seems showcase both the positives and negatives of his character. I was taught many of his “positive” accomplishments but not the negatives. Some of his character flaws were put on display and I appreciate that. This is a good book and it has enticed me to continue to read more on Mr. Garvey.

I'd didn't love this book but I got the message

I think the narrative of this book spoke more so to Garvey's arrogant aire than his positive input on the black community. Perhaps, I myself am being bias as I am a Jamaican Panamanian. But I was able to comprehend it's messages as I sift through the mentioned narcissism.

interesting

This is very informative ,there is a lot to learn about black history. we nee more people like Marcus Garvey

Uncertain

I’m uncertain that this was coming from a neutral or unbiased point of view. None-the-less it provides a rudimentary historical glance into the past.

Insulting and Informative

This book was difficult to finish. The author simultaneously praised and insulted Marcus Garvey throughout the book.

great crash course on Marcus Garvey

I remember in school during BHM being told about Marcus Garvey and how he wanted to get African Americans back to Africa. little did I know he was one of the forefathers of pan africanism. For not knowing much I sure did learn a lot. I hope Hollywood is woke enough to make a movie about him

Good Basic Info with Some Good Nuggets

Good Basic Info with Some Good Nuggets and insight to an interesting figure in Black History

Informative

This is a good and informative book. I just wished it were a little bit longer.

this is suppose to be a picture book

good summary of Marcus Garvey but I think the photos are a big part of the experience

Marcus Messiah Garvey the new John The Baptist.

Loved the book and presentation. This should be a must read in American primary schools.
One Love