319
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GARVEY, MARCUS.
Group of Eleven Typed Letters Signed; two “Open
Letters Signed and one two page Typed Letter.
All, with the exception of the last
item, are on Black Man Letterhead or U. N. I. A. letterhead; all are addressed to or concern
Thomas Harvey; condition generally very good.
SHOULD BE SEEN
.
London, 1937-1939
[3,000/4,000]
An exceptional run of correspondence from Marcus Garvey, writing from his headquarters in
London to Thomas Harvey, one of the key U.N.I.A. leaders in the United States, eventually
elected President in 1950. These letters for the most part deal with Garvey’s approval and
blessing for Harvey who was in fact becoming one of the most powerful, men in the
Association.
The bulk of the letters deal with reports and money collected for membership etc. However, in
one, dated 14 June, 1937, Garvey alludes to some sort of problem Harvey is having: “I have
noted with deep concern the statements you have made relative to yourself. I have been very
much worried about you and the cause of the difficulties you have been having. I fully appreci-
ate your embarrassment and it has been my desire to do something to relieve you, but as you
know, things are generally flat and we are still hoping for improvement.” The last letter dated
22 March 1939 hints at a serious problem and possible division within the Association in the
New York City branch. This likely referred to the embarrassment over the U.N.I.A.’s associa-
tion with the proposal of Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi. Bilbo, a Klan member
advocated the repatriation of American blacks. While separatism and a “return” to Africa were
planks in the U.N.I.A. platform, Bilbo’s use of racist invective caused the U.N.I.A. and
Harvey in particular to back away from Bilbo, but not before some serious damage had been
done. Garvey himself was ill at this time (he died a year later), and Robert Hill does not cite
any related correspondence to Harvey at this time. In fact, none of these letters are cited by Hill.
