Marcus Garvey

Rastafari and Vodou are two major world religions that are both intertwined with a long history of oppression, persecution, and connection to the African people. While not as well known as the other more “traditional” religions like Christianity or Islam, Rastafari and Vodou are both religions with followers numbering in the millions. They have had extraordinary impact on the cultural and political scenes in their respective countries of origin. While not everyone agrees with the beliefs of…

Music is the universal language in which people can communicate. No matter the genre, rap, rhythm and blues, heavy metal, or pop, it is a way that people can get their thoughts and views across to a larger audience in a manner that they can understand without having to listen to a long speech. This is why music was a great vessel for messages during the civil rights movement and protests today. A good song from the civil rights movement is “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. This was his…

Everyone knows him for promoting black pride and power, his name is Malcolm X. Born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. Growing up with his father, Earl Little, a Baptist minister and supporter of Black Nationalist leader, Marcus Garvey. And mother, Louise Helen Norton Little ,and six siblings. His family was constantly harassed by a group called group of people called the ''Black Legion''. One night in 1929, while in his family home in Lansing, Michigan, they came to his house and set a fire…

Trinity”. Rastafarians referred to him as Jah, which means God. In 1975, Selassie was captured and was said to be killed, but Rastafarians believe that his death was faked and he is in hiding until Judgement Day. The founder of Rastafarianism is Marcus Garvey, “A black Jamaican who taught in the 1920s and is considered a second John the Baptist” (Religion facts-Rastafarianism). Rastafarianism holds interesting ideologies and can…

Malcolm Little, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and Malcolm X, was born on May 19th, 1925. Since his birth Malcolm has faced racism and prejudice. His father, Earl Little, was a minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. This caused the family to receive several death threats and to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday. Despite their efforts to elude the violence, in 1929 their family home was burnt to the ground and two years later, Earl’s…

A social government that separates whites from blacks is what Black Nationalism is about. Black Nationalism is the desire, or want, for a separate nation just for black people. Black Nationalism started due to whites being discriminatory towards the African American race. Many African Americans wanted a self-determined life. A life with no hate, a life without feeling targeted at every extent of their life. Living in a society full of White Supremacy is not ideal for people of color. During…

final fact, but a continuing evolving process to higher and higher levels of human, social, economic, political and religious relationship." He championed for equality in the political arena. Other well-known activist like W.E.B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey made great strides for the movement. W.E.B. Dubois was a highly educated man graduating valedictorian in high school, he went on to earn a bachelor of arts from Fisk University and later attended Harvard University receiving a bachelor of arts…

Introduction When one hears the word Rasta or Rastafarian, certain images surface for some; dreadlocks, Bob Marley, reggae music and marijuana. As the movement has become more globalized, these iconic images have become main stream. However to understanding Rastafarianism, which some label a religious and some label a social movement, is to realize at in its simplest form it is an ideology that gives the participants a behavioral and spiritual guideline for life (Chevannes 1994). At the core…

Emancipation of The African Race In one of the most celebrated book of the 20th century, W.E.B Du Bois in is his book ‘The Souls of a Black Folk’ writes that ‘The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color-line’ (Du Bois, 1903). It is from this book that the reader understands how slavery ravaged Africa and implanted its inhabitants in different parts of the American continent. The premise of the advent and the adverse effects of it to the African continent were based on the…

The Harlem Renaissance (1919-1929) The Harlem Renaissance, originally known as the New Negro Movement, received its’ name from Harlem, a large neighborhood within Manhattan, New York. From 1917-1935, nearly 175,000 African Americans, mainly from the south, turned this neighborhood into the largest concentration of black people in the world. Out of this, came a cultural, social, artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that lit a new black cultural identity. Important Events • The…