Effective Movements: Hidden Results - Term Paper Example

Effective Movements: Hidden Results In analyzing the social movements in Black America between 1877 and 1940, there are two which at first glance do not appear to have achieved their original goals, but have none the less created lasting and long term positive effects in the African-American community. These movements, Garveyism and The Great Migration, sprang from similar origins; the need to escape the bonds of oppression and dependence on systems that were geared towards the suppression of Black independence. Both movements attempted to leap towards true freedom, both physically and economically, and to reach for the goals of better education and equal rights. The former movement, Garveyism, was championed by one man, and the latter movement, The Great Migration, sprung up out of the wellspring of despair that Blacks trapped in the south underwent. These two movements are of special interest because certainly Garveyism has always come under fire as an unsuccessful cause with a leader that was tainted by true as well as untrue accusations and the victory of the Great Migration is also considered specious and unresolved by many. In reality, these two movements had a profound and lasting effect on Black Americans both as individuals and as an entire culture. The effect of any social movement is ultimately two parts; the result and lasting impact it has on the culture as a whole and the identity changing effect it has on the individual. These components arise mutually from the overall ambition of the movement and are interdependent on one another. They compromise the real achievements of any social movement. Success can often be a relative point. Something that seems a failure may ultimate prove to be a success over time, and often to the surprise of the progenitors. For instance, if we look at Marcus Garvey and his dream, surely one could say that his movement was not successful in that it did not produce a separate Black Nation in Liberia, as was its original intention. Furthermore, the impetus of the Great Migration was to find better living conditions, freedom and equality, and that is still being sought for many today. However both these movements' effects on the minds and hearts of Black Americans can still be felt in the present and they have become an important part of both the culture and the deeper psychology of Black Americans. This effect begins as a mindset that defines who an individual is internally and how they behave externally. In a social movement this effect is in how the group reacts to each other and to those outside itself. This effect is one of "collective identify", which is defined by the authors of Collective Identity and Social Movements as: ...an individual's cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with a broader community, category, practice, or institution. It is a perception of a shared status or relation, which may be imagined rather than experienced directly, and it is distinct from personal identities, although it may form part of a personal identity. (Poletta & Jasper 283) A positive collective identity is the true outcome of both of these social movements. Therefore even though Marcus Garvey never truly realized the dream of Liberia and The Great Migration has still left many Black Americans without true equality and economic freedom, the imprint made on the mind is long lasting and has echoed over the generations. These effects are the true successes of these seemingly unsuccessful movements. Garveyism--"You Are Somebody!" This was the rallying call of Marcus Garvey to the downtrodden and weary Blacks coming out of slavery to find a new set of challenges that faced them as freedmen. But they were mentally and spiritually hobbled by the fact that generations upon generations of mistreatment had left them with a feeling of low self-esteem and poor self-worth. Marcus Garvey, perhaps for the first time, empowered the idea of self and race identity in his movement: Garveyism and the UNIA [United Negro Improvement Association] combined the various elements of Black nationalism--religious, cultural, economic, and territorial--into a distinctive blend of philosophy and agenda. Fundamental to this viewpoint was the emotive power of Blackness. Garvey was a zealot who advocated self-economic determination and African redemption. Garveyism proclaimed and promoted the coming revitalization of people of color throughout the world and exalted the power of the Black race. Marcus Garvey himself coined the term. (Watson 78) Marcus Garvey was a product of his life as well as the times. Growing up in Jamaica, his early childhood was already being assaulted with double standards as regards race, and whom one can and cannot associate with. This led him to search out a solution to the problem. By the time he came to understand the real nature of it, the Blacks in America were already in turmoil over what to do. Instead, the nadir saw Black leaders exploring alternative roads to Black progress that ranged from racial uplift, migration, emigration, and protest to pan-Africanism. In doing so, they argued with each other and wrestled with their own competing impulses regarding the many strategic issues faced by their generation. The search for solutions to the African-American dilemma presented Black leaders with stark alternatives: Should Blacks embrace integration or separation? Should they cultivate race pride or cultural assimilation? Should they seek economic success or political power? (Bay 921) In essence, Garveyism is the promotion of purity. In fact Marcus Garvey himself states just that in his editorial letter to Negro World in 1912 stating the beliefs of the UNIA: "It believes in the purity of the Negro race and the purity of the White race." He also states: It believes in the social and political physical separation of all people to the extent that they promote their own ideals and civilization, with the privilege of trading and doing business with each other. It believes in the promotion of a strong and powerful Negro nation. It believes in the rights of all men. (Wintz 212) This "Negro Nation" was to be founded in Africa in the country of Liberia, a dream that never really came to physical fruition. However, a stronger and perhaps in many ways more powerful Negro nation of the mind and soul of African-Americans was created during this period of unrest, and in no small way by Marcus Garvey and his philosophy. The search for the roots and genealogy of African-Americans was born here and has survived beyond that day. The more radical social movements of the 1960's are also one of Garvey's legacies. By the 1960s, the spirit of Garvey and Garveyism experienced a renaissance. The flashy attire of dashikis, afros, multicolored cloths, colorful regalia, and other African customs that were widely embraced by many African-American youths were a direct adaptation of the Black Cross Nurses and White hats that the UNIA wore. Once again, African-Americans took pride in dark skin, coarse hair, large lips, and other physical traits, commonly associated with people of African descent. (Watson 85). This pride is Marcus Garvey's legacy and the importance of it resonates throughout all African-Americans today. So although Garvey's original intention was never truly realized to the full extent of his expectation, the result was an effective social movement the positive effects of which resonate to this day. Young Black men and women are increasingly becoming acquainted with the literature of their ancestors and contemporaries. Black writers are enjoying a renaissance by adopting Garvey's philosophy of exuberant and militant self-love they haven't enjoyed since the late 1960s. Spike Lee, Sister Souljah, Isaac Julien, Julie Dash, Public Enemy, YoYo, and other African-American artists have relentlessly promoted this message, which has also appealed to disaffected White youth. Even suburban White youths have become affected by this wave of nationalism. Garvey's message has managed to transcend across racial and economic lines. (Watson 77) So in some ways a movement may not succeed, but can have a lasting positive effect in the long run. Ultimately Marcus Garvey’s own ambitions blinded him to the fact that many forces, both White and Black, were building against him. There were financial irregularities that were coming into the press and instead of addressing these issues Garvey chose to ignore them and concentrate on demonstrating that the moral and philosophical views of the movement were all that mattered. W.E.B. DuBois, arguable the most influential Black leader of the time came out vehemently against him. A "Garvey must Go" campaign was erected by several Black organizations putting pressure on the US Attorney General's office to speed up procedure of Garvey Mail Fraud Trail. He was eventually convicted and imprisoned until President Calvin Coolidge pardoned him and deported him back to Jamaica in 1925. Three years later he went to England to try to revive Garveyism there but to no avail. He died in London in 1940 without every visiting Africa Himself (Watson 77-79) The Great Migration: This movement began around 1910 and lasted till 1940. Over eight million Black Americans migrated from the south to the north to escape the economic and social hardships prevalent in the Jim Crowe, Klu Klux Klan system. This event, which was the largest internal migration in American history and one of the central events of African-American history, started in the cracks of history, in the minds and moods of the masses of Blacks, who were reduced to the status of semi-slaves in the post-Reconstruction period. (Bennett 116) This is a movement with no real leader. Unlike Garveyism, The great Migration sprung from the roots of intolerance and hatred and gave rise to energy and hope. That impetus became this movement. At first it started as a movement from the release from slavery of the southern plantations to finding jobs in the larger city of the south. Although being paid a substandard wage and living in cramped unhygienic housing was a far cry from the hoped for freedom that was sought after reconstruction. This was a movement that finds its roots back to the days of the Underground Railroad, but this time it was over-ground. It started at the beginnings of World War I when factory workers were needed in the north. Blacks slowly began to surge up to the northern cites in search of work and better lives and sent back messages of better conditions and wages. Over time a domino effect began to occur as more and more Southern Black migrated north. This created a movement that resembled both psychologically and physically the Gold Rush in California. (Crew 34) The years following World War I were ones filled with disillusionment for American Blacks. American involvement in that war encouraged a new wave of African-American migration out of the South. As northern industries supplied the needs of the allies and with European immigration closed off, the nation had a demand for both skilled and unskilled labor. But Black hopes raised by these opportunities were dashed as relations between Blacks and Whites worsened in the 1920s. (Watson 77) This Exodus from the south had left those sates with a limited workforce causing difficult economic conditions. The increase to the numbers in the north left those residents with the opposite problem, too many workers, not enough jobs. Migrating Blacks were perceived as taking livelihoods away from many in the north, and worse: Controversy has arisen regarding the characterization of the early migrants, who were often described in unfavorable terms (Drake and Clayton 1962; DuBois 1967; Frazier 1932). As Tolnay (2001, 236) summarized, the migrants were often blamed for a variety of social ills that were perceived to be intensifying in northern cities, including crime. . . family instability, and residential deterioration. (Schlichting, Tuckel, and Maisel 137) This stigma and the concurrent racism are both an unfortunate result of the economic upheaval that the Great Migration was also responsible for in the lives of White Americans. It is a stain that is hard to overcome. So one could say that the Great Migration was not a true success in its original intentions either, but it was effective in that it spurred the coming Civil Rights movements to a national level. This migration had a transformational effect for the country and certainly changed the national perceptions of race on many levels. Despite these difficulties, Afro-Americans continued to migrate North and to stay. With the many adjustments migrants face, strange environments, new neighbors and different ways of behaving and dressing, most found Northern cites more engaging than the places they left behind. (Spencer 36) There were also other benefits of this Exodus from the South. A cross-cultural renaissance was happening between diverse Blacks not only from the south but from other countries as well: Migration and immigration had brought together, in Harlem especially, diverse Black peoples who were learning from one another of the achievements of Africans, West Indians, and Blacks scattered across the American continent. The war, furthermore, had taught Black Americans about the exploitation of Africa and created a sense of mission among some intellectuals to free that continent. (Toll 216) This not only raised consciousness in America, but also had ramifications throughout the world. In conclusion, the effectiveness of these movements far outweighs their original notions of success. While Marcus Garvey's motives may be in question, his initial philosophy and ideology play an important part in Black culture and history. That the overall success of the Black Migration is yet to be found, the effect was certainly a shot that was heard round the world. While we may debate the veracity of Marcus Garvey and the final outcome of both of these movements, we cannot deny the tremendous effect they have had on Black culture and the community. As the Authors of Collective Identity and Social Movements express as the true effect of these movements: Collective identities are expressed in cultural materials--names, narratives, symbols, verbal styles, rituals, clothing, and so on--but not all cultural materials express collective identities. Collective identity does not imply the rational calculus for evaluating choices that "interest" does. And unlike ideology, collective identity carries with it positive feelings for other members of the group. (Poletta & Jasper 283) The final affirmative impact is in the fact that this identity was the final result and overall effect of these movements. And while Gaveyism was a quite radical version of this change in identity, it left a positive indelible mark on the Black persona and culture. The Great Migration was a more passive change function but showed that movement and change can happen on a grass roots level by individuals working as a whole race together to institute that change. In this case it where it hadbegun more as a change of place, tt became a change of identity. Works Cited Bay, Mia E. "Creative Conflict in African-American Thought: Frederick Douglass, Alexander Crummell, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Marcus Garvey," Journal of Southern History 71 (2005) 921 Bennett, Lerone "10 Most Dramatic Events in AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY". Ebony, 56 (2001), 115-119 Crew, Spencer. "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-40." Monthly Labor Review 110(1987): 34. Polletta, Francesca and Jasper, James "Collective Identity and Social Movements," Annual Review of Sociology 36 (2006) 283-289 Schlichting, Kurt; Tuckel, Peter; and Maisel, Richard. "Historical Methods Residential Segregation and the Beginning of the Great Migration of African-Americans to Hartford, Connecticut." Evidence Matters 39 (2006) 132-143 Toll, William The Resurgence of Race: Black Social Theory from Reconstruction to the Pan- African Conferences Philadelphia Temple University Press, 1979 Watson, Elwood. "Marcus Garvey's Garveyism: Message from a forefather." Journal of Religious Thought, , 51 (1995-1996) 77-94 Wintz, Cary. African-American Political Thought, 1890-1930: Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, and Randolph . Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. Read More