Message to the People. Marcus Garvey
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that you have all the elements of human perfection and as such you must love yourself.
Love yourself better than anybody else. All beauty is in you and not outside of you. God made you beautiful. Confine your affection to your own race and God will bless you and men will honor you.
Never be unkind to your race. Never curse your race. If anything is being done that is wrong by a member of your race, try to put him right. Don’t condemn him without hearing him. Give him a chance to do what is right, before you denounce him. If he provokes you, try to put up with his ignorance and persuade him to be kind, good and gentle.
3.To reclaim the fallen.
Whenever a member of your race is down; pick him up. Whenever he wants genuine help and you can help him; do so. Never leave him stranded and friendless. If you cannot help him yourself, send him to someone of the race who can help him. Put an arm of protection around him and keep him from going wrong and feeling absolutely friendless.
4.To administer and assist the needy.
Let it be your highest purpose in life to assist the needy members of your race. Use all your influence in your country, state and town to help the needy elements of your race.
Seek government help for them. Seek philanthropic help for them. Seek help anywhere you can find it so that they may improve their condition.
5.To assist in civilizing the backward tribes of Africa.
Africa is the motherland of all Negroes. All Negroes were taken from Africa against their will and forced into slavery. Africa is the natural home of the race. One day all Negroes hope to look to Africa as the land of their vine and fig tree. Therefore, it is necessary to help the tribes that live in Africa to advance to a higher state of civilization. The white man is not conscientiously doing it; although he professes to do so. This is only his method of deceiving the world.
It is the Negro who must help the Negro. To help the African Negro to achieve civilization is to prepare him for his place in a new African state that will be the home of all Negroes.
6.To assist in the development of independent Negro nations and communities.
The Negro should develop every section of the communities in which he lives that is his, so that he may control that section or part of that community.
He should segregate himself residentially in that community so as to have political power, economic power and social power in that community.
If he scatters himself about the community, or if other people live in the community, he will be scattering his power and dividing it up with other people. If there are ten thousand Negroes in a town, they should live close to each other. If there are five hundred, one thousand, or one million in a town, they will have the power of their numbers to do business, to appeal to the governor, and to voice their rights as citizens. In this respect segregation is good. To do otherwise is bad.
7.To establish commissionaries or agencies in the principal countries and cities of the world for the representation and protection of all Negroes, irrespective of nationality.
This means that there must be someone in every city whose business it will be to look after the interest of Negroes who may come into that city or country. His position will be like that of an ambassador, consul, or consular agent of a nation.
He will interest himself in all the things affecting the Negro race and see to it that no advantage or abuse is taken or made of a Negro who comes into the city or country.
He is to report all happenings affecting the Negro; and those happenings in which the Negro is interested, to the U.N.I.A. This will not be necessary where Negroes have a community of their own, but is applicable only to foreign countries, such as Europe, Asia, and South America, where the Negro may live in large numbers and have no contact with the government.
8.To promote a conscientious spiritual worship among the native tribes of Africa.
Considering that there are so many different religious thoughts, the Negro should be brought under the influence of one system of religion and the belief in one God. An honest effort should be made to instruct him in his particular desires and not to exploit him by teaching him different religions.
There is to be no speculative idea behind his religion.
9.To establish universities, colleges, academies and schools for the racial education and culture of the people.
This means that we are not to become satisfied with the educational system of the white man which has been devised by him for his own purpose; to lead others to obedience to his system.
The Negro must have an educational system of his own; based upon the history and tradition of his race. Therefore, the textbooks must be different than the white man’s textbooks. The white man’s books laud him and outrage the Negro. In such textbooks the Negro should substitute all that is bad affecting him for what is good relating to him.
Therefore, the Negro should not be satisfied with a college or university education from white schools. He should add to his schooling by going to his own schools and universities, where possible, or read such textbooks that have been adopted by his schools and colleges. These books should glorify the Negro; just as the white man’s system glorifies the white man.
10.To conduct a world-wide commercial and industrial intercourse for the good of the people.
The economic life of the Negro is important. He lives by eating, wearing clothes, and living in a home. These are essential. To get these things he must work either with his hands or his brains.
The economic system lays down the fact that commerce and industry are the feeding factors in the economic life. Hence, it is absolutely necessary that the Negro builds an economic structure sufficiently strong enough to feed the arteries of his existence.
Therefore, the Negro should indulge in every kind of business that is necessary to earn profit; because it is by profit that he will be able to obtain life’s necessities for himself and his race.
11.To work for better conditions in all Negro communities.
There should be a ceaseless effort among Negroes everywhere to improve their condition in every department of life and make their communities so prosperous as to compel the respect of their neighbor. No stone should be left unturned to advance from one stage of development and progress to another. There is always work to do in this respect.
Application
All the funds of the U.N.I.A. are supposed to be directed in these channels. The funds of the U.N.I.A. must be used for the race, and only the race. These funds belong to no one individual or group of individuals. They are held in trust for the race. All the profits made from investments in different companies that it controls must ultimately be used for the good and welfare of the Negro race at large.
U.N.I.A. property will be held in trust for the Negro race. Its wealth will be held in trust for the Negro race for serving generations yet unborn.
The U.N.I.A. shall go on eternally; with one generation handing it down to the next. No one person or persons can claim such wealth because it is for the race in perpetual existence. Stress this everywhere you go so that people may know that what they contribute to the U.N.I.A. is not loss to them. Let them know that their future generations may benefit from the gift they give today.
Black Nationalism
The culmination of all the efforts of the U.N.I.A. must end in Negro independent nationalism on the continent of Africa. That is to say, everything must contribute toward the final objective of having a powerful nation for the Negro race. Negro nationalism is necessary. It is political power and control.
No race is free until it has a strong nation of its own; its own system of government and its own order of society. Never give up this idea. Let no one persuade you against it. It is the only protection for your generation and your race. Hold on to the idea of an independent government and nation as long as other men