Explorations in Black Leadership

Co-Directed by Phyllis Leffler & Julian Bond

Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)

Marcus Garvey founded UNIA with Amy Ashwood on July 20, 1914, after he read Booker T.Washington’s autobiography, Up from Slavery. He envisioned providing education and support for blacks, and by 1920 the organization had thousands of chapters from the United States to Africa. Garvey advocated black political and economic nationalism, developing philosophies that informed the Nation of Islam, and he supported the “Back to Africa” movement.