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Difficulty: MediumPan-Africanism and Garveyism

Read the following excerpt from a statement outlining the goals of the Second Pan-African Congress (1921), organized by W.E.B. Du Bois:

'The absolute equality of races—physical, political and social—is the first step for writing the world's peace... [We seek] the establishment of international institutions to oversee the administration of colonial territories, ensuring that the voice of native peoples is heard and that their progress toward self-government is steadily advanced.'

Based on the excerpt and your knowledge of early twentieth-century Black movements, which of the following best describes how the ideology of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) differed from the approach of the Pan-African Congress?

  1. A
    Both movements shared the same organizational structure and relied on a small group of highly educated African American intellectuals to lobby Western governments for domestic integration.
  2. B
    Both movements rejected the pursuit of civil rights in the Americas and demanded that all members of the African diaspora immediately emigrate to West Africa.
  3. Garveyism was a mass populist movement that prioritized economic self-reliance and the establishment of a sovereign African nation, while the Pan-African Congress relied on elite diplomacy to lobby colonial powers for gradual political reforms.Answer
  4. D
    Both movements sought to unify the African diaspora by replacing the diverse indigenous cultures and languages of Africa with a single, standardized culture and religion.

Answer

Garveyism was a mass populist movement that prioritized economic self-reliance and the establishment of a sovereign African nation, while the Pan-African Congress relied on elite diplomacy to lobby colonial powers for gradual political reforms.
The correct answer is correct because Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was a mass-membership populist organization focused on global Black economic independence (such as the Black Star Line) and establishing a sovereign homeland in Africa. Conversely, the Pan-African Congresses organized by W.E.B. Du Bois were composed of elite intellectuals who engaged in diplomatic lobbying and sought to reform colonial systems from within.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided excerpt from the Second Pan-African Congress.
The excerpt outlines a reformist approach emphasizing international institutions, native voices, and gradual progress toward self-government through diplomacy.
This establishes the core strategy of W.E.B. Du Bois and the Pan-African Congress.
2
Compare this diplomatic, elite-led approach with the core tenets of Garveyism and the UNIA.
Marcus Garvey's UNIA was a mass populist movement emphasizing Black nationalism, global economic self-reliance (e.g., the Black Star Line), and the creation of a sovereign African empire, rather than reformist lobbying of colonial powers.
This identifies the key ideological and structural differences between the two contemporary movements.

Key Concept

The ideological and organizational distinctions between Marcus Garvey's populist Garveyism (UNIA) and W.E.B. Du Bois's elite-led Pan-African Congresses.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Pan-Africanism and Garveyism

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