Marcus Garvey

Born as Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica, Marcus Garvey was the youngest of the eleven children of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Sr., a mason and Sarah Jane Richards, a domestic worker.

He received his primary education from elementary schools in St. Ann's Bay. During this time, he went through bitter experiences like racism.

After several years, he left his school and started serving as an apprentice of a printer. In 1903, he visited various parts of Kingston and Jamaica. In 1907, the compositor's branch of the printers' union elected him for the post of its Vice President.

His experience of joining a printer's strike from 1908 to 1909, on demand of higher wages played a crucial role in developing his interest towards political activity.

After several years, he visited different regions of Central America. While living in Costa Rica in 1911, he acted as the editor of "La Nacionale", a daily newspaper. In the later part of that year, he shifted to Colon, Panama and served as the editor of a biweekly newspaper.

From 1912 to 1914, he stayed in London. There he attended Birkbeck College. Simultaneously, he worked for the "African Times and Orient Review", a journal.

At that time, he used to deliver speech at Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner. After his return to Jamaica in 1914, he set up the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) .

In 1916, he visited the U.S. to deliver speech and to raise funds for establishing a school in Jamaica. It was this time when he met several black leaders there.

In the next year, he formed the first UNIA division in Harlem, New York, where he spoke about economic, social and political freedom of black people. In 1918, his publication of "Negro World" was an attempt to convey his message on freedom of black people in an effective way.

This influential political activist faced difficulties like racism when he was very young. When he was a teenager, his white friends with whom he used to play since his childhood days, started avoiding him.