For centuries, people of African descent have faced systems of racial discrimination and stratification that have affected their life chances. Regardless of class, gender, ethnicity, education, or nationality, these systems have mostly effected the socioeconomic position of Blacks in damaging ways. Against this trend though, countless Blacks have worked to combat the causes and effects of racism, and have experienced varied degrees of success. Out of these struggles for social change and black political power, the formation of mass movements and coalitions has emerged as a particularly effective strategy. Towards this end, we can assume that political activism among Blacks is a key means to gaining influence over public opinion, politicians, governments, and other political actors that may reduce black poverty and other aspects of institutional racism. While the actual method of activism (i.e. voting, demonstrations, boycotts, etc) is beyond the scope of this paper, this paper explores the basis and effectiveness of black political blocs' membership
[...] In fact, Garvey indeed oversimplified the black political landscape, and his organization's zealous promotion of black unity often ignored or dismissed the social basis and importance (regardless of their legitimacy) of these internal divisions. Instead of negotiating or trying to resolve these differences though, the UNIA placed maximum emphasis on the idea that the African descent common to all Blacks was sufficient basis for political unanimity. Such single-mindedness proved not only burdensome to create and direct, but also to be dangerous, since it created an environment unwelcoming to ideological discourse or intellectual exchange. [...]
[...] First of all, Garvey and the Blacks of Rogers' study have placed the mobility of poor Blacks into the middle class as a major priority. Towards achieving this end, West Indians emphasize the role of an individual's work ethic, while native-born Blacks and Garvey have formulated a group-level strategy that focuses on common political behaviors to remedy what has been correctly identified as systematic racial discrimination. Out of this milieu, Garvey's strategy stands out because it consciously derived its strength from the large size and diversity of its all-black membership. [...]
[...] Works Cited Nelson, S. (Director). Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind. (2000). [Film]. Available from
[...] For these reasons, Blacks come into contact with daily racism regardless of their ethnicity, and furthermore, form a common racial identity as a result. For West Indians and American Blacks, this identity is based largely on their shared resistance to slavery, racism and other negative experiences flowing daily from to their race's low position. At the same time too, both ethnic groups rally around positive aspects of their common racial group in which they take pride and affirm, for example, civil rights victories and physical beauty,. [...]
[...] This paper aims to not only break down and explain internal divisions of blackness such as these, but also to draw out a potential solution, one which draws upon the platform of Marcus Garvey and the UNIA. During the 1910s and 1920s, Garvey led a widely popular pro-Black movement that consciously crossed lines of class, nationality, and most relevantly, ethnicity. Despite the mixed success of the movement's larger goals (i.e. African repatriation), the UNIA came close to realizing the potential for political power and unity that blacks had barely ever experienced before that time. [...]
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