In August 1920, Marcus Garvey gathered Black representatives from several regions of the world in Harlem. Out of this convention emerged the Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, a major political text affirming Black self-determination, denouncing the colonization of Africa, condemning lynching, demanding legal equality, and proclaiming red, black, and green as the colors of the Black race.
Marcus Garvey: the 1920 declaration that sought to liberate Black peoples across the world
Written and adopted at the Convention held in New York in 1920, during which Marcus Garvey presided and was elected Provisional President of Africa.
Marcus Garvey is an iconic figure of Pan-Africanism who distinguished himself through a movement aimed at the masses. In 1914, he founded the famous Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League (or UNIA), an international Black nationalist organization. In 1918, he created The Negro World, whose articles were written in several languages (English, French, and Spanish) in order to reach as many Afro-descendants across the world as possible.
In 1920, at Liberty Hall in Harlem, Garvey proclaimed before 25,000 people his “Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World.” In doing so, Marcus Garvey addressed the masses and wished to see the emergence of Black entrepreneurs capable of competing with their Western counterparts. Among Garvey’s most striking political declarations were the proclamation of an African Empire and his self-proclamation as “Provisional President of Africa.” Here is the official record of the “Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World”:
[Preamble]
Whereas the Negro people of the world, through their chosen representatives assembled at Liberty Hall in the City of New York, United States of America, from August 1 to August 31 of the year nineteen hundred and twenty (1920) of the Christian era, have protested against the wrongs and injustices they suffer at the hands of their White brethren, and have proclaimed what they deem fair and just treatment for the years to come. We denounce the fact that:
I. Nowhere in the world, save for a few exceptions, are Negroes, though placed under the same conditions and circumstances as Whites, treated in the same manner; on the contrary, they are victims of discrimination and are denied the elementary rights due to human beings solely because of their race and color. We are not welcomed in public hotels and inns solely because of our race and color.
II. We denounce the fact that in certain parts of the United States, when accused of crimes, members of our race are denied the public trials granted to other races; instead, the accused are lynched and burned by mobs, and such brutal and inhuman treatment is even inflicted upon our women.
III. That the European nations have partitioned among themselves the African Continent and have almost entirely taken possession of it; that the natives are compelled to surrender their lands and are in most cases treated like slaves.
IV. That in the Southern United States, although citizens protected by the federal constitution and at times as numerous as Whites in certain states, although landowners and taxpayers, we are neither involved in the making and administration of laws nor represented in government, even though we are equally landowners, taxpayers, and compelled to military service.
V. That in the Southern United States, in public transportation, we are crowded together and forced to accept separate compartments while paying the same fare as for first-class accommodations. Our families are often humiliated and insulted by drunken Whites passing through these compartments to reach smoking cars.
VI. In certain parts of the United States, Negro doctors are denied the right to practice in public hospitals in cities where they reside. Our children are forced to attend shorter-cycle schools of an inferior level compared to those of Whites; moreover, school funds are unequally distributed between Negro and White institutions.
VII. That Negroes are denied the right to earn the same wages as Whites, which would enable them to support their families. Furthermore, in most cases, they are not allowed to join labor unions and therefore remain permanently underpaid compared to Whites.
VIII. That in civil service and departmental administrations, discrimination creates the impression that being a Black man in Europe, America, and the West Indies is synonymous with being banished from the human race, a sort of leper, regardless of one’s character or knowledge.
IX. That in the colonies and the West Indies, British or otherwise, Negroes are denied the right to elect and be elected or appointed just as their White fellow citizens are.
X. That our people are compelled in certain regions to take lower-paid employment than the majority of Whites and continue to live in conditions repugnant to morality and decency.
XI. That the numerous denials of justice suffered by our race before the courts in our respective islands and colonies are such as to inspire contempt and disgust for the White man’s sense of justice.
XII. Therefore, in the face of such inhuman, uncivilized, and unchristian behavior, we here assembled vigorously protest and demand their condemnation by all humanity.
In order to support our race throughout the entire world and inspire it toward a nobler destiny, we recommend and insist upon the following Declaration of Rights:
1. Whereas all men are born equal and entitled to life, liberty, and happiness, and by virtue of this, we, the duly elected and accredited Representatives of the Black peoples of the world, invoking the aid of the Just and Almighty God, declare the men, women, and children of our blood throughout the world to be free citizens and claim for them the status of free citizens of Africa, the Motherland of all Negroes.
2. We believe in the supreme authority of our race in all racial matters, that all things have been created and given for the common use of mankind, that there should be fair sharing and distribution of all such things, and, considering that our race is presently deprived of those things morally and legally ours, we believe it just to acquire them by every possible means.
3. We believe that the Negro, like every other race, should enjoy the rights and privileges common to humanity.
4. We declare that Negroes should have the right, wherever they form a community, to elect representatives to parliaments, courts of justice, or any institution exercising authority over that community.
5. We affirm that the Negro is entitled to impartial justice before the courts wherever he may be, and whenever this right is denied because of race or color, it constitutes an insult to the entire race and should be felt by all Negroes.
6. We declare that in communities where there are considerable numbers of Negroes, it is unfair and prejudicial for Negroes to be tried by juries composed entirely of other races; therefore, our race has the right to representation on such juries.
7. We believe that any law or practice tending to deprive the African of his land or the privileges of free citizenship in his own country is unjust and immoral, and that no native should be bound to respect such a law or practice.
8. We declare taxation without representation to be unjust and tyrannical, and that no Negro should be obliged to respect any tax imposed by authorities from whose administration of laws he is excluded because of race and color.
9. We believe that any law specifically aimed against the Negro because of race and color is unjust and immoral, and such a law ought not to be obeyed.
10. We believe that all men are entitled to human respect, and our race can in no circumstance tolerate any insult implying disrespect for our color.
11. We disapprove of the use of the term “nigger” to refer to Negroes and further demand that the word Negro always begin with a capital “N.”
12. We believe that the Negro should use every means to protect himself against the barbarous practices inflicted upon him because of his color.
13. We believe in the freedom of Africa for the Negro peoples of the world, and by the principle of “Europe for Europeans” and “Asia for Asians,” we therefore claim “Africa for Africans” living in Africa and abroad.
14. We believe in the inherent right of the Negro to possess Africa and that such possession cannot be regarded as an infringement upon the rights or acquisitions of any race or nation.
15. We strongly condemn the greed of those nations which by force or secret means have appropriated the territories and vast wealth of Africa, and we affirm our determination to reclaim the treasures and possessions of the vast continent of our ancestors.
16. We believe that all men should live together in peace; however, when certain races provoke the anger of other races and nations through violations of their rights, war becomes inevitable, and attempts by any means to secure liberty and protect one’s rights or heritage become legitimate.
17. Whereas the lynching, burning, hanging, or killing of human beings by any other means is a barbarous practice, a disgrace and insult to civilization, we declare any country guilty of such atrocities to be outside the bounds of civilization.
18. We protest against the atrocious crimes of whipping, flogging, and overworking African tribes and Negroes elsewhere. Such methods must be abolished, and every measure should be taken to prevent the continuation of such brutal practices.
19. We protest against the atrocious practice of shaving the heads of Africans, especially women or persons of Negro blood, when imprisoned for offenses by non-Negro races.
20. We protest against segregation in housing, public transportation, industrial labor, lynching, and restrictions on political privileges imposed upon Negro citizens throughout the world because of race or color, and we shall devote all our energies to combating these practices.
21. We denounce any severe punishment inflicted upon a Negro when the same offense is lightly punished for a non-Negro as an injustice and injury that must be condemned by the entire race.
22. We protest against educational systems in countries where Negroes do not share the privileges and advantages of other races.
23. We declare throughout the world that it is unjust to exclude Negroes from industries and labor.
24. We believe in freedom of the press and vigorously protest against the banning of Negro newspapers and periodicals in several parts of the world, and in this regard call upon Negroes everywhere to use every possible means to resist such repression.
25. We demand free expression for all men.
26. We protest against the publication of scandalous and inflammatory articles by non-Negro races intended to provoke discord, and we also protest against the exhibition of images portraying the Negro as a cannibal.
27. We believe in the self-determination of all peoples.
28. We declare freedom of religious worship.
29. With the help of Almighty God, we declare ourselves the sworn defenders of the honor and virtue of our women and children, and pledge our lives for their protection and defense everywhere and under all circumstances against malice and outrage.
30. We demand forever the unrestricted right to education without prejudice to ourselves or our posterity.
31. We declare that instruction in our schools by foreign teachers who preach the superiority of the non-Negro race over the Negro race is an insult to the Negro peoples of the world.
32. In countries where Negroes reside and successfully pass civil service examinations, they should enjoy equal opportunities regarding appointments to such public service positions.
33. We vigorously protest against the unfair and unjust treatment accorded Negro travelers, by sea and land, by railway agents and employees and shipping companies, and demand equal treatment with travelers of other races.
34. We declare it unjust for any country or nation to enact laws intended to discourage or prevent the immigration of Negroes because of race and color.
35. The Negro has the right to travel unmolested, and all Negroes are called upon to support any Negro who may be mistreated.
36. We declare that all Negroes have the same right as all others to travel throughout the world.
37. We demand that the governments of the world recognize our leaders and the representatives elected by our race to look after its welfare.
38. We demand control of our social institutions without interference from any non-Negro race.
39. We declare the colors red, black, and green to be the colors of the Negro race.
40. We adopt the hymn “Ethiopia, Thou Land of Our Fathers…” as the hymn of the Negro race:
The Universal Ethiopian Anthem
(Poem by Burrel and Ford)
Ethiopia, thou land of our fathers,
Thou land where the gods loved to be,
As storm clouds at night suddenly gather,
Our armies come rushing to thee.
We must in the fight be victorious,
When swords are thrust outward to gleam;
For us will the victory be glorious,
When led by the Red, Black, and Green.
[Chorus]
Advance, advance to victory!
Let Africa be free;
Advance to meet the foe
With the might
Of the Red, the Black, and the Green.
Ethiopia, the tyrant’s falling,
Who smote thee upon thy knees,
And thy children are calling
From over distant seas.
Jehovah, the Great One, has heard us,
Has noted our sighs and our tears,
With His spirit of Love has stirred us
To be One through the coming years.
[Chorus]
O Jehovah, Thou God of the Ages,
Grant unto our leaders wisdom,
Give them strength from Thy holy pages.
When Israel was in need of Thee,
Thy voice came sounding through the dark.
Ethiopia stretches forth her hands unto Thee,
That through Thee our chains may be broken,
And heaven bless our dear homeland.
[Chorus]
41. We believe that restricted freedom which deprives a person of the rights and prerogatives of full citizenship is nothing more than another form of slavery.
42. It is an injustice to our people and a real obstacle to the health of our race to deny Negro physicians the right to practice their profession in municipal hospitals where they reside.
43. We appeal to the various governments of the world to accept and recognize as Representatives of the interests of all Black peoples of the world the Negro representatives sent to them.
44. We condemn and protest against the mixing of youths and adults in prisons and instead recommend that these young prisoners be trained in trades by instructors.
45. We, as a race, declare the League of Nations null and void insofar as it deprives Negroes of their liberty.
46. In the name of justice, we demand that all men treat us as we would treat them, and we willingly grant to all men the rights we claim here for ourselves.
47. We declare that no Negro shall engage in conflict on behalf of another race without first obtaining the consent of the leader of the Negro peoples of the world, except in matters of national defense.
48. We protest against the enlistment of Negroes and their dispatch to war without adequate training and demand that in all cases Negroes receive the same training as others.
49. We demand that the education provided to Negro children include the subject of Negro history.
50. We demand complete commercial freedom with all Negroes throughout the world.
51. We declare complete freedom of the seas for all peoples of the world.
52. We demand that our duly accredited representatives be officially recognized in all international assemblies, conferences, conventions, or arbitration courts where Human Rights are discussed.
53. We proclaim August 31 a holiday to be observed by all Negroes.
54. We wish to make known to all men that we shall assert and defend the freedom and equality of every man, woman, and child belonging to our race at the cost of our lives, our destiny, and our sacred honor.
Such are the rights we deem legitimately ours and necessary for the advancement of the Black race, and because of this, we, in the name of four hundred million Negroes, upon the sacred blood of the race, pledge ourselves and affix our names as a guarantee of its truth and justice, here before Almighty God, on this 13th day of August, 1920.
