Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in St Ann's Bay, Jamaica in 1887. After traveling abroad and witnessing the hardships , discrimination and sub-standard living and working conditions faced by black people across the globe, the young Marcus Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in an effort to fight for their equality.

By the 1920s, the UNIA had a presence in over 40 countries world wide promoting an African nation state, as well as black self help, black nationalism, entrepreneurship, numerous publications, and the establishment of several businesses, most notably the Black Star Shipping Line.

Garvey's efforts to take blacks out of oppression were eventually crushed when he was falsely accused of mail fraud in the U.S. and given a 5 year jail sentence which was then commuted to 2 years.

Garvey died in West Kensington, England in 1940 but left behind an important legacy of literary works including poetry and speeches based on his mission to understand and improve the plight of all black men and women.