Message to the People. Marcus Garvey
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Never be satisfied to always live under the government of other people because you will always be at their mercy. Visualize for yourself and your children and generations unborn, your own king, emperor, president, your own government officials and administrators, who look like you.
God never could have intended to make you look as you look and as you are, and make your king, president, emperor or ruler of a different race than you are.
This must not be a license for you to disobey the laws of kings of other races or rulers of other races, while you live under their control. You must always seek and work for a government absolutely your own, where you and your children will have a chance like anybody else in the state; to have a chance to rise from the lowest to the highest position; which you may not attain under other governments. While you are under alien governments get the best out of them as the rights of citizenship; but always have in view doing something to make it possible for your race to have a nation and a government of its own. Speak of this, dream of this, work unceasingly for this and never forget this, for this is the great task of the U.N.I.A.
Never confuse your ideas about Negro nationality with that of other peoples, so as to think that their nationality is good enough for you.
Never think that if Japan gains control of the world, they will treat you better than Anglo-Saxons or Latins. Don’t think that if the Chinese or Indians get control of the world your position will be better. All other races and nations will use you just the same; as slaves and underdogs.
Therefore, your only protection is to have your own government. Don’t encourage Negroes to join Japanese, Chinese, Indian or any other movements; with the hope of getting greater freedom. They will never get it, because all peoples want all things for themselves.
Explain this thoroughly and sufficiently so as to discourage ignorant Negroes from thinking otherwise. You should teach Negroes to have pride in their own nationality and teach them not to try to wear garments that typify membership in other nationalities. It is ridiculous and people laugh at them for doing so. Teach Negroes to look for honor in their own race and from their own nation and to serve their own race and nation to get such honors.
Any honors they can get from any other race for serving that race they can get from their own for serving their race. Therefore, don’t waste time in that. You can have your own king, emperor, pope, duke, your own everything. Therefore, don’t bow down to other races for recognition.
When you have honored your own men and women, recognize that honor before the whole world to let the world know that you honored your own. If the world laughs at those you have honored; ask them if they want you to laugh at those they honored. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If they laugh, laugh at them.
A white king has no more right to drive in a golden coach than your king and sovereign. Their pope has no more right to put on sacred robes than your pope. Their dukes and nobles have no more right to be dressed up in feathers than your dukes or nobles. Therefore, have pride in yourself and honor yourself.
Don’t allow the other nations to get ahead of you in anything. Follow the idea of the Japanese. Every ship the other races build the Japanese build one. Every university the other races build for teaching men, the Japanese build one. Do the same. Always have your own because there will not be enough to accommodate you later on. Create your own.
Every Japanese you see is working for the good of his nation. Every white man you see is working for the good of his nation. Teach every Black man to work for the good of his nation. In conversation with him never leave him until you have persuaded him to this line of thought.
Go to all your lawyers, doctors, and ministers and talk this into them. Argue with them until they perspire confession. Go back again and again and talk until you get your man and let him work for a nation.
Always talk about a nation. Always feel that you see the nation. Use the object lessons of other nations to convince your people of the reality of a nation.
The sovereign of a people is in the nation. It is the result of a people forming a society of their own to govern themselves and to achieve their ends.
People with different outlooks and of different races never join together except they are subdued. They always find independent expression and action. The highest expression of this independence is in the sovereignty of a nation.
The flag of a nation is the emblem that signifies the existence of that nation. Have your flag. It is red, black and green. Be proud of it for it is the emblem of your race. When other nations exhibit theirs, exhibit yours. Make songs about your nation and sing them. Write poetry about your nation and read it; recite it. Glorify your nation in music and songs. Don’t sing the songs of other races. Don’t recite the inspirational poems of other races. Sing and recite your own.
Everything that inspires other races turn into your own tune and fit it to suit your own inspiration and idealism. See only yourself in everything. Make your nation the highest expression of human idealism. Then live up to it.
Lesson 4
ELOCUTION
ELOCUTION MEANS TO speak out. That is to say, if you have a tale to tell, tell it and tell it well.
The idea of speaking is to convey information to others. Therefore, you must speak so that they might hear you. You must speak with dignity, eloquence, clearness and distinctiveness. You must speak to be understood in the language you speak. You must carry emphasis when you speak.
To be a good elocutionist, you must embody in yourself clearness of thought, expression and action. First, you must feel what you speak and as you feel it, express it in like manner. If you feel the enthusiasm of a thing, express it with enthusiasm. Speech and truth should be just your feelings on all things. If you speak coldly or without emphasis it is because you feel coldly and not moved to action. Every man who is not tongue-tied by nature can speak. God gave him a voice for that purpose, therefore, if you have anything to say, say it out loud so that others may hear you.
In addressing a crowd of people in a small room you must raise your voice to reach the person farthest away from you in the room. If you are addressing one hundred people you should raise your voice loud enough in expressing yourself so that the person sitting farthest away from you will hear every word distinctly and in like manner, if you have an audience of one thousand, two thousand or five thousand. If you stand up on a platform in front of an audience of a thousand and address them in the voice you would use for an audience twelve feet by twelve feet, the people twelve feet away from you will not hear you and those farthest away from you will have to strain their ears to hear and understand you. They will become disgusted and walk out on you. When you have an audience you must make an effort for everyone in the audience to hear you distinctly. You must pronounce your words correctly for them to understand what you say. You must not run your words into each other. You must make your words clear and distinct. You must not rush your sentences but speak in short sentences that carry clear thoughts so that everyone will be able to follow and understand what you say. The idea of listening is to hear. When an audience doesn’t hear every word of the speaker, the speaker has failed to make a complete impression upon his audience. Probably, the very thought he would like to leave is not sufficiently distinct and clear as to be heard, therefore, the speech is in vain.
Always speak in words that your audience understands. Never try to speak above your audience’s head because it will be a waste of time. Nobody will understand you. The important thing in speaking is to be understood. First, always think of what you are going to say before you say it, otherwise, you will be regarded as a fool for talking nonsense.
In a speech, when you start a sentence always complete it. Never speak in long sentences because people cannot remember long sentences. When you are delivering a speech do so with emotion so that you feel what you are saying. Do not stand in one place like a mummy. People will think you are planted there. Put action behind your feelings and move as your feelings direct.
If you are honest in what you are saying, you will feel it and it will move you. Always be enthusiastic about