What the fuck was this dude's deal?

What the fuck was this dude's deal?

Learning about civil rights history in middle school we never heard jackshit about him really, saw a couple of pictures of Funny Hat Black Rights Man and that was it. But holy moly, what a character.

W.E.B. DuBois
>Marcus Garvey is, without doubt, the most dangerous enemy of the Negro race in America and in the world. He is either a lunatic or a traitor.

Marcus Garvey
>I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together. I like honesty and fair play. You may call me a Klansman if you will, but, potentially, every white man is a Klansman as far as the Negro in competition with whites socially, economically and politically is concerned, and there is no use lying.

Way ahead of his time? Fraudulent nutcase? Let's talk Marcus Garvey! Other civil rights personalities are ok too, but please let's not have any "lol niggers xD" in this thread.

Hypocrisy is a lethal weapon, its better to know who is your real enemy

>I regard the Klan, the Anglo-Saxon clubs and White American societies, as far as the Negro is concerned, as better friends of the race than all other groups of hypocritical whites put together. I like honesty and fair play. You may call me a Klansman if you will, but, potentially, every white man is a Klansman as far as the Negro in competition with whites socially, economically and politically is concerned, and there is no use lying.

What did he mean by this?

That he accepted their ethnic-nationalist views and held like views about his own ethnic group -- just as KKK wanted white country for white people, he wanted black country for black people, and thus found their views more trustworthy on some level than white liberals who wanted to ameliorate conditions of the black underclass to keep them productive underclass to white society.

Garvey tended to promote the idea that blacks would never find success in the New World and should return to their ancestral homeland, Africa (not particularly giving a fuck about where in Africa, just Africa in general). And just coincidentally he so happened to run a shipping line that could take you there!

Garvey was /our guy/

He was a cooky guy in the long line of strange alternate paths the civil rights movement took. If we're talking zany ideas I think Booker T had more absurd ideas but that's just me.

It's valuable to point out why his "back to Africa" notions had such traction - prior to his prominence, a large number of prominent black leaders such as Booker T. Washington thought that black Americans could most effectively better their situation by essentially putting their heads down and trying to discredit the idea that they were inherently inferior by going above and beyond in dedication to work, education, service to the US, etc. Essentially, that they would make it blatantly obvious that the negative racist stereotypes about it were bullshit, resulting in tons of white people abandoning their prejudices in light of the clear evidence to the contrary. many thought that by demonstrating their heroism and dedication on the battlefield they would achieve respect and equality at home. That was a big motivator in units like the Harlem Hellfighters fighting so tenaciously and bravely during WWI.

The thing is, the US military kept treating them like garbage with substandard rations and equipment, making the black soldiers do all the grueling manual labor and similar demeaning tasks, snubbing them for medals and promotions, etc. These black soldiers were also shocked by how fairly brits, frogs, etc treated them by comparison. This made them even more disillusioned with the US.

As the war ended there were massive race riots and attacks on returning black veterans, to the point that many formed militias to survive. The Klan and other groups put out word that any black veteran that wore his uniform or medals would be lynched, and many were. Some came home to find that the missus and junior and had been "taken care of" by the KKK & co while they were gone, and were now coming for them next.

Throw in things like the burning of Tulsa and resurgence of the Klan, and Garvey's arguments that the US was a lost cause for black people and that they had to find a new homeland were persuasive.

This is a grade A post.

Thanks, militant black movements in the US are a historical interest of mine. If you have JSTOR access, read "Vanguards of the New Negro: African American Veterans and Post-World War I Racial Militancy." It does an excellent job at summarizing the contemporary political climate, armed resistance against lynchings, and the early history of groups that went on to inspire organizations like the Black Panthers.

>Some came home to find that the missus and junior and had been "taken care of" by the KKK & co while they were gone, and were now coming for them next.

citation needed