DIVISION IN THE EARLY MOVEMENT
325
●
GARVEY, MARCUS.
Delegates to the 6th Intl. Convention Negroes of the
World, Edelweis Park, St Andrew, Jam, 1920.
Silver print photograph 5
3
⁄
4
x 9
1
⁄
8
inches;
some slight wrinkling.
Jamaica, 1920
[1,000/1,500]
The Negroes of the World was a parallel movement that embraced a great deal of Marcus
Garvey’s separatist and return to Africa sentiments, however, none of their militantism: a note
on page 518 of volume X of Robert Hill’s “Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro
Improvement Association Papers”, prints an announcement of this convention. It failed to get
up any steam, because the African leaders were unable to attend. They state unequivocally that
they “have no sympathy with the militant side of Garveyism.” A rare image of the gathering,
such as it was in Jamaica in 1929.
326
●
GARVEY, MARCUS.
Harlem Weeps over Garvey—Jailbound.
Photograph,
4
1
⁄
2
x 5
1
⁄
2
inches of Garvey leaving New York City “Tombs.” Some wrinkling.
New York, 1923
[2,500/3,500]
A SCARCE PHOTO SHOWING GARVEY LEAVING THE
“
TOMBS
”
IN LOWER MANHATTAN WHERE HE HAD
BEEN HELD DURING THE COURSE OF A LONG TRIAL
ON CHARGES OF MAIL FRAUD
.
By 1919, Garvey’s huge
success among African Americans had triggered an all-out
effort by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI to find some weak-
ness, something criminal with which they could discredit the
leader. But Garvey was to all intents and purposes
“squeaky clean.” That is until someone in the Black Star
Line office made a grave mistake. In 1921, Garvey’s Black
Star Line had begun negotiating for a large freighter to be
christened the “ S.S. Phillis Wheatley.” In their efforts to
raise money for this purchase, they ran pictures of the vessel
with that name on the bow-before the Black Star Line actu-
ally owned it. This constituted mail fraud. The FBI threw
the proverbial book at Garvey, even though he was clearly
not personally responsible. But the government made the
charges stick, and Garvey was sent to prison in the Spring of
1923. He was then deported to Jamaica, and eventually
went to England, where he died in1940.
325
