Cameron Busby 2/25/15

Prof. Peters Black Political Identity

REACTION PAPER 1 “Where is the Black man’s government? Where is his King and his Kingdom? Where is his President, his Ambassador, his army; his navy, his men of big affairs?” ‘MARCUS GARVEY’ It is this poignant thought that countless Pan African people have sought to define and answer, and bring to reality throughout the Pan African movement and struggles. From Prophecy to Policy: Marcus Garvey and Evolution of Pan African Citizenship by Claudius Fergus is a historic overview of the organization and outcomes of the Pan African and African Dispora political agenda from 1600’s to the middle 2000’s culminating in the African Union and the implementation of the Sixth Union. Fergus documents the historic, worldwide, movement to end social, economic and political injustice for all African people. Fergus introduces that the focus of European colonization in the 17 th century took place in the Caribbean because of the sugar industry. Europeans needed cheap labor and sought African slave labor to be used as chattel on sugar plantations. The atrocities continued for hundreds of years when finally the nation of Jamaica and Haiti fought for the decolonization and physical freedom against exploitation. These wars took place in the late 1700’s. The knowledge of the black man physically fighting in the Caribbean is contrary to the tales of the docile American

slave Dispora. Fergus also tells of the Eighty-Year’s Maroon War and a landmark treaty of 1739 which recognized the Maroons as free and sovereign people as rulers over their own territory in the West Indies. The people of the Caribbean did not wait on the benevolence of white and Europeans to end their suffering. The author introduces how Marcus Garvey, between 1910-1920 became an activist and statesman. Garvey, a West Indian and a Maroon by birth came to America in 1910. He came to prominence by first starting the paper the “Watchman” then in 1919 he editorialized, the “Negro World”. It was around this time that Garvey became a prominent member of the Pan African movement. Garvey did go to London for the first Pan African Conference where he met Booker T. Washington , W. E. B. Dubois and other Black prominent leaders of the time, but Garvey had his own thoughts about what a Pan African should embrace. He wanted the leaders to embrace more African nationalism. He broke away from the movement by starting his own. His followers became known as Garveyites. It was his wife Amy Ashwood a descendant of the Ashanti people helped to create a strong movement that also embraced women in leadership roles. Garvey became idolized in Harlem but he was also seen as eccentric by some. He became better known for starting the “Back to Africa Movement”. Garvey did explain that he knew not every Black person could go back to Africa and that he wanted Pan African people who wanted to be pioneers to create a nation or promise land if you will for others to follow. He said that he knew there would be limitations but he wanted all Pan African people and Africans to see themselves as one to reach the goals for Black empowerment. Marcus Garvey was before his time. He became a caricature to whites and was seen as a trouble maker, later being thrown into prison. But Garvey also started an organization called the “Negro Improvement and

Conservation Association” or UNIA. Garvey’s prophesy of “ my cause shall rise again to plague the conscience of the corrupt” did come to fruition with the likes of Kwame Nkrumah who helped to free Ghana in 1957 and Nnamdi Azikiwe who both were disciples of Garvey and helped Africa bring sweeping changes. The Pan African Conferences evolved through time and changed names and agenda’s with each group of African and Pan African scholars and thinkers. Many came from the Caribbean and it was in 1976 that the author details how a “radical” Caribbean scholar became highly critical of African leaders who were not inclusive and relegated African people to territories and boundaries. All the way until the early 2000’s, the altercations raged on about African identities. Black Africans and Pan Africans even were in debate as to what titles to call themselves in regards to race also became a hot bed issue. In 2006, the Pan African Conference became known as “The African Union” and divided itself into regions. The African Dispora of America became known as the Sixth Region. Here again, Garvey’ s ideals that all people of African descent should have worldwide citizenship or recognize each other as a citizenship of one people would be the ideal way to make individual empowerment and global progress. The Pan African Conference of 1900 by J.R. Hooker. The Pan African Association as it was called in 1900 was a very different organization composed mainly of English scholars and by l901 the association was composed of “fifty persons of African descent and 150 Europeans.” Dues were divided by race. The conference took place in London England. Booker T. Washington did attend the conference and was given the responsibility for informing Black leaders in America and around the world as he was most prominent at the time. Later Washington became disheartened by some of the goals. His concern was that Africa had become “gobbled up by the Europeans” and Africa would hold no value for American Blacks and freed ex slaves. According

to Hooker, Booker T. Washington did not attend next year’s conference himself. The conference went on without him and an Afro Saxon and self-styled barrister H.S. Williams with the help of the assistance of the white Bishop Creighton (Bishop of London) gained support of West Minister Abbey and Queen Victoria’s last response of support before her death. The Pan African African Movement, 1900-1945 A Study in Conflicts Among the Disciples of Pan Africanism by Alexandre Mbouku. Mbouku states that during the early times of W.E. Dubois around 1907, Dubois addressed his thoughts about how he believed Black Africans were not educated or “civilized enough to run their own countries. Dubois according to A. Mbouku sent out letters to the Firestone company and other German/Belgian consuls offering the services of “talented and New World Blacks to help develop Black Africa.” Mbouku tells of a less than heroic picture of Dubois and states he wanted to civilize and modernize Africa. The author also relates how Marcus Garvey wanted West Indians to go to Africa and man changes, but W.E. Dubois saw American Blacks as more educated to do the job. The author then highlights H.S Williams a supposed Black barrister from England who went to Africa to cover the atrocities suffered by Africans but while there it was claimed he only lived among the “colored” who held more comfortable lifestyles. The author then gives attention that in 1945, Kwame Nkrumah came from the Gold Coast to become one of the most prolific Black leaders in Africa. He eventually helped to free Ghana and was a disciple of Garvey. Mbouku stated that New World Pan Africans would and the Pan African movement became more or less a battle for who would help Africa make global change and that the Pan African movement lack cohesiveness. My Reactions to the Reading: It was informative to learn that the leadership to end slavery did not begin in America but the Caribbean and that the Caribbean and West Indian people fought physically warring against

slavery with what means they had. If I have heard of the Eighty-Years war I never realized the significance of it. How important the Jamaicans, Haitians and Maroons and countless people of the islands who made such sacrifice to be free and led the way. The readings made me reflect on the divisions and divisiveness of thought that at times is a great drawback amongst African and Pan Africans. Sometimes this selfishness of so-called intellectual thought has only made for the ones with less than good intentions to take over and enslave Black peoples. When I read that after all of the years to present time the Pan African Union is divided into regions, it made me reflect on the tribalism that Europeans took advantage of. I have a better appreciation of Marcus Garvey and that he was not the caricature that many history books portray him. His leadership was a road map for others who made some of his dreams manifest. At one of the early Pan African Conferences at the turn of the century of the 20th century I learned that American people of the Diaspora was worth well over seven hundred millions dollars. Many questions come to mind as to why Blacks cannot work to pool their monies as the Jewish people have to create their own promise lands. There were American Blacks at the turn of the century in Oklahoma who did these things and made a self-reliant town but it was burned down by the KKK. You have to keep on trying but it is also easy to blame the victims. The reflections and the reading also made me come to the realization that Black people have never been fully accepted as a people solely based on color and physical differences. Is this why there is so much declension amongst Black people themselves. Again, I do not want to blame the victim but Pan African peoples are worth a lot more today than seven hundred million dollars. Where is the network television owned by Blacks? Where is the worldwide bank owned by Blacks? Where is the magical kingdom owned by Blacks? Where is the Fashion Industry

owned by Blacks?; Where is the Movie Industry and Academy Awards owned by Blacks? Where is the Televison and Cable Company owned by Blacks? These economic empowerments are clearly something that canbe accomplished when monies are pooled together. It is clear as the many West Indian people have stated, one cannot wait on the benevolence of others to lead the way. It must come from self- reliance and collective trust to make economic empowerment.