Grassroots Garveyism: The Universal Negro Improvement Association in the Rural South, 1920-1927

301 Pages·2007·2.61 MB·English

by  Mary G. Rolinson

Grassroots Garveyism
the john hope franklin
series in african american
history and culture
Waldo E. Martin Jr. & Patricia Sullivan,
editors
Garveyism
s
t
the universal negro
o
improvement association
o
in the rural south,
r 1920–1927
s mary g. rolinson
s
The University of North Carolina Press
a Chapel Hill
r
G
∫ 2007 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Set in Scala and The Serif types
by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rolinson, Mary G.
Grassroots Garveyism: the Universal Negro Improvement
Association in the rural South, 1920–1927 / Mary G. Rolinson.
p. cm. — (The John Hope Franklin series in African American
history and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-8078-3092-5 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-8078-5795-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Universal Negro Improvement Association—History.
2. Garvey, Marcus, 1887–1940—Influence. 3. Black
nationalism—Southern States—History—20th century.
4. African American political activists—Southern States—
History—20th century. 5. African Americans—Southern States—
Politics and government—20th century. 6. African Americans—
Race identity—Southern States—History—20th century.
7. Southern States—Politics and government—1865–1950.
8. Southern States—Race relations—History—20th century.
9. Southern States—Rural conditions. I. Title.
e185.61.r745 2007
305.896%073—dc22 2006030921
cloth 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1
paper 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1
For Frank
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Rediscovering Southern Garveyism 1
1 Antecedents 24
2 Lessons 48
3 Growth 72
4 Members 103
5 Appeal 131
6 Transition 161
Epilogue: Legacy 192
Appendix A. unia Divisions in the Eleven States of the
Former Confederacy 197
Appendix B. Numbers of Southern Members of unia Divisions
by State 200
Appendix C. Numbers of Sympathizers Involved in Mass
Meetings and Petitions for Garvey’s Release from Jail and
Prison, 1923–1927 201
Appendix D. Phases of Organization of unia Divisions in the
South by State 202
Appendix E. Ministers as Southern unia O≈cers,
1926–1928 203
Appendix F. Profiles of unia Members in Georgia, Arkansas,
and Mississippi, 1922–1928, and naacp Branch Leaders
in Georgia, 1917–1920 204
Appendix G. Women Organizers in the unia in the South,
1922–1928 214
Notes 217
Bibliography 251
Index 269
Illustrations and Maps
Illustrations
Summerhill Baptist Church 97
Reverend Adam D. Newson 113
unia creed in the Negro World 148
Petition for clemency for Marcus Garvey to
President Calvin Coolidge 157
E. B. ‘‘Britt’’ McKinney 185
Maps
1 unia Divisions in the Former States of the Confederacy,
1920–1928 66
2 unia Divisions in Georgia (by County) 108
3 unia Divisions in Mississippi and Arkansas (by County) 110
4 naacp Branches in Georgia, 1917–1930 167
5 naacp Branches in the Arkansas and Yazoo-Mississippi Deltas,
1919–1930 176
Acknowledgments
After more years than I care to emphasize, I am delighted to
finally have the opportunity to thank the people who have helped
me in so many ways to make this book possible. I met my hus-
band, Frank, in 1988, about the same time I began research-
ing the Garvey movement in the South. His love, patience, and
understanding have been my motivation and inspiration on this
long journey. The arrival of our boys has made life more mean-
ingful and joyful and has given me insight into the southern
Garveyites’ determination to be respected, especially for their
children’s sake. I especially want to thank my parents for their
positive influence and steadfast love.
Over the years, substantial assistance was provided by the
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, especially by
manuscript curator Diana Lachatanere, who helped me find the
division card files in the Universal Negro Improvement Associa-
tion Records collection. The reference librarians and interlibrary
loan specialists at Georgia State University and the University
of Georgia have always been e≈cient and helpful in numerous
ways. Thanks to the employees of the National Archives II in
College Park, Maryland, especially Clarence Lyons, who assisted
me by making available the critically important records of the
Department of Justice and the U.S. Pardon Attorney. A very spe-
cial thanks to the archivist, whose name I did not write down,
who quickly understood the need to reorganize and more care-
fully preserve the Garvey records at Archives II, which were in
disarray. I spent a number of years at the Federal Archives at East
Point, Georgia, searching through the 1920 population sched-
ules. So many kind and interesting elders doing family research
o√ered encouragement for my project and anecdotes describing
the rural South in the 1920s. The 1930 census became available
in the late stages of my research, and now that all census records
are digitized and searchable through Ancestry.com and other
databases, I must thank the wonders of technology for making
this type of research so much easier. It is also important to men-
tion here that only through the work of Robert A. Hill, editor, and
the many researchers and assistant editors of The Marcus Garvey