Universal Negro Improvement Association

Life Cycle

The UNIA was founded in Jamaica, the West Indies, in 1914 by Garvey, along with the help of Amy Ashwood, the woman who would later become his first wife. By 1916, Garvey had arrived in New York City and began organizing a UNIA branch in Harlem. From 1916 to 1917, Garvey undertook a speaking tour of the United States, stirring up pride in his audiences in 38 states, giving them hope for African redemption and a sovereign African state with which to identify. Garvey's philosophy became known as Garveyism and his followers gained recognition as Garveyites. In 1918, Garvey began publishing The Negro World, the UNIA's weekly newspaper, which would later reach a readership of possibly 200,000 and be published in Spanish and French as well as English. Garvey wrote weekly front page editorials for the paper. In 1919, Garvey formed the Negro Factories Corporation, whose $5 shares [Page 830]financed Black businesses, including grocery stores, restaurants, a printing plant, a millinery store, and a steam laundry in New York City. At about the same time, the Black Star Line steamship company was established for commercial trade and to provide passage from the United States to the Caribbean, South America, and African countries (primarily Liberia) that did not carry with it the Jim Crow treatment of the existing White-owned passenger liners. The Black Star Line was also a symbol for the Back-to-Africa plan envisioned by Garvey. The plan was for a portion of followers to settle in Liberia. Although the Black Star Line was able to purchase three ships, the vessels were in poor shape, Garvey had overpaid for them, and the company was plagued with incompetence, mismanagement, and financial problems. In spite of the Black Star Line's troubles, the UNIA was approaching its highest point of membership. In 1919, Garvey claimed to have had more than 2 million members dispersed over 30 branches. In 1920, while claiming 4 million members worldwide, the UNIA held its first International Convention, attracting a crowd of 25,000 (including the mayor of Monrovia, Liberia). At the 1920 convention in New York's Madison Square Garden, the UNIA drew up a document known as the Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, which called for all nations to respect the rights of Negroes everywhere.

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