1887 – 1940
Marcus Garvey (1887–1940) was a Jamaican political philosopher, orator, and publisher who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and became the preeminent theorist of Black nationalism and Pan-Africanism in the early twentieth century. He argued that people of African descent must build independent political, economic, and cultural institutions, ultimately uniting in a sovereign African nation. His philosophy of racial self-determination and diasporic solidarity shaped subsequent civil rights movements, Black Power ideology, and Rastafarianism.
Founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), the largest mass movement of African-descended people in history at its peak
Developed Black nationalism as a systematic political philosophy centered on self-determination and economic independence
Established the Black Star Line shipping company as a practical vehicle for Pan-African economic autonomy
Articulated an epistemological framework insisting that African and African-descended scholars must produce and control knowledge about Africa
Posthumously declared Jamaica's first National Hero; recognized as a foundational influence on Rastafari theology