Racism occurred many years ago, and millions of Afro-Americans suffered from it. Many writers represented Afro-Americans as a lower stratum of society. Furthermore, there were many Black people, who were ashamed of their racial identity and of the pieces of art that Afro-Americans created. However, many poems and essays were written that illustrated the truth about the life of Afro-Americans and the pressure they faced. Langston Hughes was a white writer who created a true definition of African Americans. The essays of Marcus Garvey followed Hughes’s definition, and he created an accurate picture of the lives of Afro-Americans by illustrating problems, racial pressure faced by these people daily, and possible improvements.
Marcus Garvey was a hero for millions of African Americans and faced racial inequality, so he created an accurate picture of his nation in his works. Marcus Harvey wrote brief essays describing the realities of the life of Afro-Americans. This author believed in the power of these people, and he promoted ideas of gathering all Black people together. In his essays, Garvey promotes ideas for creating an independent territory for Afro-Americans. For instance, in “Africa for Africans,” he stated that all Black people should focus on creating a great nation in Africa (Andrews et al. 986). In this case, Marcus Garvey created an accurate picture of African Americans lives because Western politicians implemented thoughts on colonizing Africa by Africans. Langston Hughes also stated that each Black person should be proud of their racial identity and that they should fight for their right and these ideas were discussed by Marcus Garvey (Hughes 43). For example, the author emphasized that improvements for Black people could be made due to the changes in Western politicians’ plans for Africa (Andrews et al. 987). Therefore, Marcus Garvey described the actual conditions of African Americans’ life and fought for their improvement.
The key term of the Harlem Renaissance was race solidarity and pride, which are seen in Marcus Garveys essays. The author illustrated the achievements of the UNIA and stated that all goals might be achieved if Afro-Americans would cooperate (Andrews et al. 987). In comparison with “Philadelphia clubwoman,” which was criticized by Langston Hughes for her inability to accept her race, Marcus was proud of being Black, so Hughes and Garvey had quite the same views on racial identity (Hughes 43). Marcus Garvey announced the thoughts of many Afro-Americans to have their territory with their own rules, so he accepted himself as a Black man. For instance, in the essay “The Dream of a Negro Empire,” he emphasized that many Afro-Americans genuinely believed that Africa would be wholly colonized by them (Andrews et al. 987). This statement describes the hopes of many Black people in those days, so Marcus Garvey was one of the authors who created an accurate picture of African Americans lives. Hence, Garveys assumptions were based on his personal experience and the beliefs of the majority of Afro-Americans so that Marcus could create an accurate picture of the Afro-Americans’ lives and followed Hughes definition.
To sum up, Marcus Garvey wrote many essays which illustrated the accurate picture of the life of Afro-Americans and followed Hughes definition. The author was proud of being African American and felt race solidarity, which was the critical element of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, Marcus Harvey made different conclusions based on those days’ realities in his essays and showed the acceptance of his identity, so he suited Hughes description of being Black. Lastly, he created an accurate picture by demonstrating the achievements of different organizations aimed to promote the racial pride of Black people.
Works Cited
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., general editor, Nellie Y. McKay, general editor. The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature Third Edition, edited by Henry Louis Gates Junior and Valerie Smith, Norton & Company, 2014, pp. 984-987.
Hughes, Langston. The Negro artist and the racial mountain, 1926, pp. 55-59