Marcus Moziah Garvey

Garvey, Marcus Moziah (1887–1940), U.S. black nationalist leader, born in the British West Indies. In 1914 he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica and in 1916 introduced it to the United States, where it gained a widespread following. It emphasized the kinship of blacks and a “back to Africa” movement. He promoted the Black Star Line, a shipping company for trade with Africa, but in 1925 was convicted of mail fraud in connection with its funds. His sentence commuted by President Calvin Coolidge (1927), he was deported to Jamaica.