Marcus Garvey’s essay “The Negros Enemy” explains the hardships and aspirations of many African Americans during the 1920’s. Thousands of African Americans joined Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association during this time looking for a place to rise up in society. The thought of racial pride and purity was appealing to many. This essay is to explain how and why African Americans needed a program of racial purity, separatism, and nationalism to have hope for the future. Marcus Garvey was born in the Island of Jamaica in the British West Indies on August 17, 1887. Garvey grew up with a mix of black and white children and his black parents. His education was from multiple sources, from private tutors, two public school, grammar schools, and two colleges. Garvey expresses that there was no difference between race while growing up. White and black children played together, as children do. He states that; 1“The little white girl whom I liked the most knew no better than I did myself. We were two innocent fools who never dreamed of a race feeling and problem.” The school was mixed, and Garvey remembers how black students were never called negroes, and the first time he was called a negro was when he was fourteen years old. …show more content…
Unfortunately, traveling to South and Central America and other parts of the West Indies, and even in Europe, Garvey found the same situations. He then picked up the book “Up from Slavery” by Booker T Washington, then it dawned on Garvey that he could become the race leader for negros. Garvey then asked a few questions; 4 “I asked ‘Where is the black man’s government? Where is his king and his kingdom? Where is his President, his country, and his ambassador, his army, his navy, his men of big affairs”? When no answers to the questions could be found, Garvey said 5 “…and then I declared, ‘I will help to make