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Why did many Harlem Renaissance writers disagree with Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa movement?
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Harlem Renaissance
Dust jacket designed by the Mexican illustrator and writer Miguel Covarrubias for Langston Hughes's The Weary Blues (1926), a book of experimental poetry.
Many writers and intellectuals associated with the Harlem Renaissance disagreed with Marcus Garvey’s "Back to Africa" movement due to fundamental differences in ideology and leadership style.
While both movements were rooted in a rising sense of racial pride, their visions for the future of African Americans diverged significantly:
- Integration vs. Separatism: The Black establishment, including leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois of the NAACP, generally sought to secure civil rights and build a self-sustaining ecosystem for African Americans within the United States. In contrast, Garvey was a Black separatist who advocated for the return of African Americans to Africa to establish an independent nation.12
- Leadership and Style: Many middle-class Black intellectuals resented Garvey’s flamboyant style and his public scorn of their leadership. His business practices, particularly regarding the Black Star Line, were often criticized as slipshod.32
- Racial Ideology: Garvey’s doctrine of racial purity and his willingness to find common ground with white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan—because they also favored racial separation—alienated many prominent Black leaders who were fighting for equality and integration.12