Garvey advocated a philosophy of race redemption. He said that
blacks needed a nation of their own where they could demonstrate
their abilities and develop their talents. He believed that every
people should have its own country. The white man had Europe, and
the black man should have Africa. Race redemption did not mean that
all blacks must return to Africa. However, when there was a
prosperous, independent African nation, blacks throughout the
world would be treated with respect. He noted that Englishmen
and Frenchmen were not lynched, but that blacks, in contrast, were
treated like lepers. Garvey did plan to encourage those blacks who
had particularly useful skills or who desired to return to Africa
to do so, in order to become the back-bone of this new prosperous
black nation.
Garvey was harshly critical of the leadership in the Afro-
American community. With the exception of Booker T. Washington,
they had all advocated social equality, intermarriage, and
fraternization. Garvey said that these only led to increased
racial friction, He argued that racial purity for both whites
and blacks was superior to racial integration, Blacks should also
be proud of their race and their ancestry.
Pages:
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267