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Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association
"This book has the important element that is missing in most of the books and articles on Garvey - a political analysis of what the Garvey Movement was about." (John Henrik Clarke, The Black Scholar)
A classic study of the Garvey movement, this is the most thoroughly researched book on Garvey's ideas by a historian of Black nationalism.
A classic study of the Garvey movement, this is the most thoroughly researched book on Garvey's ideas by a historian of Black nationalism.
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First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
Tony Martin
134 books18 followersTony Martin (February 21, 1942 – January 17, 2013) was a Trinidad-born professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. He retired in June 2007 as professor emeritus after 34 years teaching at the Africana Studies Department, where he was a founding member.
He was a lecturer and author of scholarly articles about Black History. His written works about the plagiarism by the Greeks of African philosophy, and statements regarding Jewish involvement in the American slave trade have both been a source of ongoing controversy.
In October 1991, a Wellesley student, Michelle Plantec, while on hall duty, claimed that she saw Martin wandering in a female dorm in a restricted area, in violation of a rule requiring male guests to be escorted. When she asked him about his escort, Martin, she claims, responded using profanity, accused her of racism and bigotry, and positioned himself so as to physically intimidate her. Martin denied all these claims, and declared that a group of women "accosted him rudely, despite circumstances that in his view made the legitimacy of his presence obvious."
In an interview with a campus newspaper, Plantec said: "I stopped him and said, 'Excuse me, sir, who are you with?' He looked at me and said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'What Wellesley student are you with?' and at that point he exploded and called me a fucking bitch, a racist, and a bigot, among other things. ...After all this, he went back into his meeting and said the only reason I had stopped him was because he was black.
Out of this grew Martin's most famous book, The Jewish Onslaught: Despatches from the Wellesley Battlefront. The Chair of Martin's department at Wellesley, Selwyn R. Cudjoe, labelled Martin's book "Gangsta history, meant to demean and to defame others and to bring them into disrepute, rather than to enlighten and to lead us to a more complex and sophisticated understanding of social phenomena. It ought to be labeled anti-Semitic." The majority of the Wellesley faculty signed a statement condemning Martin's work "for its racial and ethnic stereotyping and for its anti-Semitism."
Martin's book was also criticized in a statement by the president of Wellesley College:
[The book] gratuitously attacks individuals and groups at Wellesley College through innuendo and the application of racial and religious stereotype.... Despite Professor Martin's incendiary words, and his attempt to portray Wellesley College as a repressive institution bent on silencing him, we will continue to recognize his right to express himself.
In June 2002, Martin presented a talk entitled Tactics of Organized Jewry in Suppressing Free Speech at the 14th IHR Conference sponsored by the Institute for Historical Review. The Institute for Historical Review is devoted to anti-Semitic literature and especially Holocaust denial and has been linked to neo-Nazi groups. since 1995 it has been headed by a member of the white supremacist National Alliance.
Wikipedia
He was a lecturer and author of scholarly articles about Black History. His written works about the plagiarism by the Greeks of African philosophy, and statements regarding Jewish involvement in the American slave trade have both been a source of ongoing controversy.
In October 1991, a Wellesley student, Michelle Plantec, while on hall duty, claimed that she saw Martin wandering in a female dorm in a restricted area, in violation of a rule requiring male guests to be escorted. When she asked him about his escort, Martin, she claims, responded using profanity, accused her of racism and bigotry, and positioned himself so as to physically intimidate her. Martin denied all these claims, and declared that a group of women "accosted him rudely, despite circumstances that in his view made the legitimacy of his presence obvious."
In an interview with a campus newspaper, Plantec said: "I stopped him and said, 'Excuse me, sir, who are you with?' He looked at me and said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'What Wellesley student are you with?' and at that point he exploded and called me a fucking bitch, a racist, and a bigot, among other things. ...After all this, he went back into his meeting and said the only reason I had stopped him was because he was black.
Out of this grew Martin's most famous book, The Jewish Onslaught: Despatches from the Wellesley Battlefront. The Chair of Martin's department at Wellesley, Selwyn R. Cudjoe, labelled Martin's book "Gangsta history, meant to demean and to defame others and to bring them into disrepute, rather than to enlighten and to lead us to a more complex and sophisticated understanding of social phenomena. It ought to be labeled anti-Semitic." The majority of the Wellesley faculty signed a statement condemning Martin's work "for its racial and ethnic stereotyping and for its anti-Semitism."
Martin's book was also criticized in a statement by the president of Wellesley College:
[The book] gratuitously attacks individuals and groups at Wellesley College through innuendo and the application of racial and religious stereotype.... Despite Professor Martin's incendiary words, and his attempt to portray Wellesley College as a repressive institution bent on silencing him, we will continue to recognize his right to express himself.
In June 2002, Martin presented a talk entitled Tactics of Organized Jewry in Suppressing Free Speech at the 14th IHR Conference sponsored by the Institute for Historical Review. The Institute for Historical Review is devoted to anti-Semitic literature and especially Holocaust denial and has been linked to neo-Nazi groups. since 1995 it has been headed by a member of the white supremacist National Alliance.
Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 25, 2019
Excellent book. Effective at correcting a lot of misinformation on Garvey, Garveyism and the UNIA.
April 23, 2023
Very interesting read, I think it's very strange that Marcus Garvey wasn't once mentioned in my history classes despite being so influential
July 22, 2011
The book was a little too dry and academic for my tastes. This is not surprising being that it resulted from the author's post-graduate work, and it reads pretty much like you would expect knowing that. It seems like a shame, because Marcus Garvey was a colorful, vibrant character, and the book does not match him in that way.
The author does not spend a lot of time creating context or giving information on people who are not Garvey, so names come and go and can be easily confused. The book comes most alive in the last two chapters detailing his conflicts with the NAACP and WEB DuBois, and his dealings with white supremacists. This is partly due to the liveliness of the material, but there is also more background information for other characters here, and that helps things come alive.
The information is nonetheless good, and it is important in that a critical academic look at Garvey's efforts was needed. It is too easy to write the man off as a joke, which is completely unfair, but he did have real shortcomings and the book gives a balanced look at that.
There may not be a great on Garvey out there yet, so this is something, but I am not sure I can recommend it unless you are already deeply interested in the subject matter.
The author does not spend a lot of time creating context or giving information on people who are not Garvey, so names come and go and can be easily confused. The book comes most alive in the last two chapters detailing his conflicts with the NAACP and WEB DuBois, and his dealings with white supremacists. This is partly due to the liveliness of the material, but there is also more background information for other characters here, and that helps things come alive.
The information is nonetheless good, and it is important in that a critical academic look at Garvey's efforts was needed. It is too easy to write the man off as a joke, which is completely unfair, but he did have real shortcomings and the book gives a balanced look at that.
There may not be a great on Garvey out there yet, so this is something, but I am not sure I can recommend it unless you are already deeply interested in the subject matter.
February 15, 2024
Gotta love Marcus Aurelius Garvey!
August 7, 2025
Book was a little dry at some points, but very very informative. I learned so much that I did not know about Garvey & the UNIA. Our people have never been organized in that large of a number since the fall of the UNIA. Rip to the great teacher.
August 2, 2025
I always thought I had received an adequate education in history. But after reading this book, I now understand the phrase “history is written by the victors”
November 10, 2014
One of my all time favs. Every time I read it I get pulled in. It gives so much color to this epic time and shows the inside story of how Mr. Garvey created the most substantial, largest movement of Black people in modern history. But the white supremacist system was too much, and managed to subsequently erase the memory of it. It's an important story because that system has not been diminished. Much respect to Brother Tony, a great researcher and story teller, now with the Ancestors. Peace...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews