Defaming Garvey Again
[Reprinted from Issues & Views July 10, 2002]
Have they no shame, these "civil rights" frauds? Are there no limits to the dishonest tactics in which they'll engage, in order to pull off yet one more con game?
Having exhausted in usage the names of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, in countless causes and schemes, these flim-flam artists are now making a long reach to pull Marcus Garvey's name out of their bag of tricks. The goal, of course, is to imply Garvey's blessing on their latest chicanery, that is, the forthcoming rally for "black reparations" to be held in August in Washington, DC. Using the pretense of Garvey's 115th birthday, they are muddying his memory by affiliating his quest for economic independence for blacks with their own demands for a giant handout--thus making him guilty by association.
A believer in the uplifting power of capitalist enterprise, Garvey was a fierce exponent of individual initiative. In spite of racism, he taught, blacks have ample freedom in America to create, just like other groups, their own economic opportunities. "The Negro is perishing," he claimed, "because he has no economic system, no commerce, no industry." Garvey insisted that it was the responsibility of blacks themselves to constructively exercise the freedom they possess, instead of wasting energy on endlessly excoriating and making demands of the white man.
Through his own efforts and enterprises, Garvey showed that it was within the power of blacks to extricate themselves from poverty, so they would no longer be part of what he called "a hobo race that lingers by the wayside." In 1917, he toured several American cities to see for himself the commercial accomplishments of those blacks who had created a multitude of businesses--banks, restaurants, real estate firms, theaters. He said his heart was filled with joy to see the handiwork of blacks who "have sufficient pride to do things for themselves." (See Without Commerce and Industry, The People Perish and Honoring Garvey for the Right Reasons )
The organizers of this latest Washington march--members of mainly socialist-oriented groups--are savvy when it comes to the political history and leanings of those whose reputations they choose to confiscate. So, it can't be out of ignorance that they have chosen this man of all men to represent their latest illegitimate crusade. They are well aware of the communists and socialists, who, during the 1920s, conspired in the destruction of Garvey. They are also well aware of the role played by other black elites, who, instigated by the NAACP, brought about his deportation in 1927.
During the 1960s and 1970s, many of these leftist groups would not even allow Garvey's name to be included in their propaganda literature, with some members expressing anger at this man, whom they deemed a misguided tool of the capitalist class. Now, today, they conveniently find him a useful tool for their purposes. Garveyites, if they still existed in the vast numbers of old, would surely deem the adoption of their mentor, for this shakedown of American taxpayers, a defamation of his character. They probably would stage a counter-rally in defense of his memory and against this self-interested clique.
Furthering the irony of this choice of Garvey as a symbol for a movement that makes a mockery of his teachings is the fact of his well-known admiration and respect for the quintessential apostle of personal responsibility, Booker T. Washington. As founder and visionary leader of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, Washington, a former slave, trained the most disadvantaged blacks in skills and occupations, while urging them to forge their own destinies in this land where all things are possible.
Although his opponents in the civil rights movement have managed to denigrate his remarkable work, wiping his memory entirely from the national consciousness, Washington's influence during the early years of the 20th century was formidable. His life story was commonly known by all school children, black and white, who were taught to draw inspiration from his determined efforts, not only to educate the poorest members of his race, but to help them overcome being defeated by resentment over their former condition. (See Booker T. Washington: Legacy Lost and
Booker T. Washington: True Believer )
It was Washington's achievements at Tuskegee that greatly impressed Garvey and set him on a similar path. Like Washington, he too rejected the approach to civil rights that finally came to prevail once the country's majority white population fell in step with it.
Marcus Garvey would indeed be mortified to discover that those entrusted with the leadership of blacks have moved their brothers and sisters no further along than making public demonstrations to plunder bounty from government coffers. Garvey fought such morally corrupt leaders throughout his lifetime and would fight them if he were alive today.
For more on reparations, see Reparations: Lining the Pockets of Elites
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