Garvey’s movement galvanized black politics, religions, and trade unionism – showing progressives that African and Caribbean people could lead their communities and that his ideas could work across contexts. His success serves as an reminder for modern progressives that African and Caribbean people can serve as leaders within their own communities while his ideas can adapt easily for use elsewhere.
Garvey was born in Saint Ann’s Bay, Jamaica and dropped out of school at fourteen. Subsequently he apprenticed at a print shop, joined protonationalist groups, traveled throughout Central America and London before finally finding himself settling back down again at thirty.
1. Educate Yourself
Garvey believed education to be the key to success and advocated a philosophy of self-cultivation. Additionally, he enjoyed poetry – writing in 1921’s Negro World newspaper edition: “Many an aspiring poet has found all their inspiration for success through poetry.
Garvey’s emphasis on self-cultivation and education reflected classical ideas of personal growth and political leadership, while his ideas about race and African history also came through strongly in his writings from Atlanta federal penitentiary in 1925 – in his essay entitled Governing the Ideal State, written from inside prison he sought to uplift black race while foster its economic independence.
Although this movement was widespread at its time, its ideology does not mesh well with modern views of racial justice. The movement’s belief was that African-descended people were superior races capable of taking back Africa from European colonists and running it as an African empire; Garvey was seen as a sort of black Moses with the power to free his people from psychological bonds associated with inferiority complexes.
Garvey was heavily influenced by Booker T. Washington and was able to develop an even larger organization under his umbrella, UNIA. He hosted conventions both in Jamaica and America and encouraged blacks to invest in their communities by starting businesses. Unfortunately, his movement eventually faltered in America due to his identification with fascism during the 1930s combined with anti-Semitic beliefs which alienated many followers; his movement eventually lost steam when he started criticizing Haile Selassie’s rule in Ethiopia; ultimately leading up until his death in London in 1940.
2. Organize Yourself
Garvey held to an ideology that combined both individual and racial considerations. Through his writings and public speeches, he created an individualistic yet collective gospel of success he called Garveyism; an amalgamation of Jamaican peasant aspirations for economic and cultural independence with Darwinian survival of the fittest ideas based on Darwin’s evolutionary theories of survival of the fittest; these ideologies combined to form his grand vision for pan-African regeneration.
Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Through it he organized and promoted several small businesses to meet the needs of black people; restaurants, grocery stores, publishing house and even toy company among them. Furthermore, Garvey promoted racial pride by advocating that African Americans were an independent people destined to return their ancestral homeland of Africa as part of an empire they would rule as their own nation.
Garvey’s views, while popular at the time, do not align well with contemporary notions of racial justice. Indeed, his movement caused much debate within the black community and contradicted major philosophies of key black leaders such as W.E.B Du Bois.
Prioritization is one of the cornerstones of being an effective leader. Prioritizing ensures that important tasks get completed first and deadlines are met; it keeps you focused on what you do best; it demonstrates to others your commitment; if you can master prioritization effectively, many other traits mentioned here should follow naturally; if not, seek assistance from colleagues or direct supervisors for guidance.
3. Motivate Yourself
No matter your field or financial goals, motivation will play a vital role. When learning to motivate yourself you’ll be better equipped to push past hurdles that come your way and reach your desired outcomes.
Garvey understood motivation as something inherent to human nature; using this belief as his driving force for his mission of promoting black self-reliance and unity.
As a leader, you should strive to foster an environment which fosters intrinsic motivation among your employees and ensures a higher level of productivity and morale – this will ultimately make you a more effective leader overall.
Lack of motivation may stem from any number of causes, such as wanting to avoid discomfort, fearing failure or feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks. To overcome these hurdles, focus on what you enjoy about each task while using procrastination tools like time blocking to stay on task.
One way to stay motivated is to recognize small victories and acknowledge accomplishments when working on challenging projects, even if that means taking just a moment or two to reflect on them or share with someone. Furthermore, research shows that surrounding yourself with positive and enthusiastic people has an exponentially positive effect on motivation levels.
Books, podcasts and online blogs written by those who have successfully achieved your desired goal can also serve as sources of motivation. Reading such works will recharge your motivation while encouraging you to remain on track with your journey.
4. Organize Others
Garvey’s leadership style relied heavily on recruiting others to carry out his vision and achieve his goals. He used his formidable oratory and literary talents to promote what he termed a new philosophy of leadership that he likened to religion, using examples such as statesmen, emperors and conquerors from history for inspiration; also drawing upon classic works like Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Shakespeare plays and Robert Frost poetry for insight.
As Garvey launched his campaign to bring all Negro peoples of the world under one common banner and establish an entirely theirs country and government, he began by gatherings on street corners and in churches, eventually expanding his message into larger halls like St Mark’s Hall in Harlem as well as writing books and articles for “Negro World.”
In 1920, Garvey held his UNIA’s inaugural national convention at Madison Square Garden and thousands of blacks flocked there for him to discuss his plan to establish an African nation-state. At that convention he also wrote and had approved by vote the Declaration of Rights for Negro Peoples around the World (also ratified at that meeting).
Garvey succeeded in winning over black support, yet many whites opposed his plans for UNIA and its back-to-Africa movement. Many believed such plans could lead to the establishment of a separate state for blacks as well as be expensive with substantial tax burdens associated with them.
Garvey’s views on racial separation were often at odds with those held by other Black leaders such as W.E.B Du Bois. Furthermore, his animus towards Jews clouded his judgment and diminished any positive impressions he may have held of them in the past.
5. Work Hard
No matter the profession or goal you aim to attain, hard work is necessary. Garvey demonstrated this principle by founding numerous small black businesses including restaurants, newspapers, book publishers, toy makers, doll companies that helped black children learn about their heritage as well as traveling extensively to spread his message and recruit members for UNIA.
Garvey made extensive travels throughout his life and encountered people from various backgrounds. Through this encounter he learned that in order to gain and keep followers he must consider issues other than race alone; hence his expanded focus to include cultural aspects, encouraging Africans to embrace Jewish culture while hoping to open an industrial training school similar to Tuskegee in Jamaica following in UNIA’s footsteps.
While Garvey’s ideas were progressive at the time, they don’t align well with modern understandings of racial justice. He believed white people wouldn’t accept black people as equals; therefore his movement, known as Garveyism, focused on self-development rather than equality between races.
Garvey used rhetoric to engage his audiences during his speeches. He likened his movement to religion and encouraged its adherents to adopt its beliefs with as much enthusiasm as they had for Christianity. This may have been inspired by reading Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People when he began lecturing circuit in 1920; this course helped hone his speaking abilities and improve recruiting and motivating followers more effectively.
