Invisable Man - Black Leaders Essay - 2124 Words

At the time that Ralph Ellison writes the novel The Invisible Man there were, as there are today, many ideas on how to improve the black mans status in a segregated nation. Marcus Garvey was a militant black nationalist leader who created a amp;quot;Back to Africaamp;quot; movement. On the other side was Booker T. Washington who preached for racial uplift through educational attainments and economic advancement. A man who strayed more on the middle path was W.E.B. Du Bois. He was less militant than Marcus Garvey but was more so than Booker T. Washington. Ellison uses characters from the novel to represent these men. Marcus Garvey is fictionalized as Ras the Exhorter. Booker T. Washington is given voice by the Reverend Barbee. W.E.B. Du†¦show more content†¦Here was a man who was happy to be black: not only happy but also proud. Garvey’s racial pride movement helped the Harlem Renaissance. Blacks started to express their feelings and thoughts through art and music. Thi s was a time when whites really took a look at black art and culture. Garvey’s most extreme movement was the amp;quot;Back to Africaamp;quot; movement. He called all blacks to return to their true homeland, Africa. To help make this possible Garvey created the Black Star Line in 1919 to provide transportation. He also started the Negro Factories Corporation to encourage black economic independence. Garvey attracted thousands of supporters and had two million members for the UNIA. Garvey’s rise to fame was amazing; speaking to an audience in Colon, Panama in 1921 Garvey said amp;quot;two years ago in New York nobody paid any attention to us. When I use to speak, even the policeman on the beat never noticed me.amp;quot; Depending on whom you talked to Garvey was the new Moses of blacks or a complete madman. In amp;quot;After Marcus Garvey---What?amp;quot; an article in Contemporary Review, Kelly Miller writes that: Marcus Garvey came to the U.S. less than ten years ago, unheralded, unfriended, without acquaintance, relationship, or means of livelihood. This Jamaican immigrant was thirty years old, partially educated, and 100 per cent black. He possessed neither comeliness of appearance nor attractive physical