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How did Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association influence racial pride in the 1920s?

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Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry — African American literature Frontispiece and title page of *Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral* (1773) by Phillis Wheatley, the first Black woman to become a poet of note in the United States. The portrait on which the frontispiece's engraving is based is often attributed to Scipio Moorhead, an Black artist and writer who, like Wheatley, was enslaved and living in Boston.

In the 1920s, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), founded by Marcus Garvey, played a pivotal role in fostering racial pride among African Americans by promoting the concept of the "new Negro"—a person who was unapologetically proud of their Black identity and heritage.12

Garvey’s movement stimulated this growth in race consciousness through several key methods:

Cultural Affirmation: Through his newspaper, Negro World, Garvey highlighted the splendors of African culture and the achievements of Black heroes, encouraging a rediscovery of African heritage.12
Economic Empowerment: Garvey argued that true respect for Black people required economic strength. He promoted an independent Black economy by establishing ventures like the Black Star Line and the Negro Factories Corporation.31
Mass Mobilization: The UNIA utilized colorful pageantry, such as large parades and international conventions in Harlem, to create a sense of collective power and dignity among the urban Black population.12

While Garvey’s leadership was controversial and faced criticism from other Black leaders, his movement served as a vital forerunner to Black nationalism and paralleled the cultural rise of the Harlem Renaissance.32