Marcus Garvey's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

During the Civil Rights era, the tactic of nonviolence was utilized with the intent to integrate the nation. Such desires were driven by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr and other organizations. However, while the majority of the movement focused on these goals, a divergent movement began to grow and challenged many of the mainstream ideologies. The ideas of black nationalism began to emerge following its foundation by Marcus Garvey and influenced people such as Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Its foundation was a direct response to the direction taken by the Civil Rights Movement as some felt not enough was being done and that the tactics used by civil rights leaders were not bringing about effective or long-lasting change. Instead of integrating black and white communities, the black nationalist movement aimed to achieve economic independence for black

Likewise, separatist movements and the beginning of the black power movement sought to empower African Americans and bring about political, economic, and social independence from white America. While it remained a minority movement, the ideas and influence from black nationalism are seen throughout the civil rights movement and continue to play a part in the struggle for equality and justice for African Americans today. The ideas of Marcus Garvey and his role as a leader of the black nationalist movement in the early to mid 1900’s inspired many by bringing about the notion of economic independence through Pan-africanism and highlighted the importance of black culture. Influenced by the economic ideas of Booker T. Washington and feeling discouraged by black organizations such as the NAACP, Garvey found the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A) (“Marcus Garvey” Biography.com). Following U.N.I.A’s foundation Garvey founded several other