Marcus Garvey may be a somewhat controversial figure, however, nobody can deny the impact he’s had on the world. In light of that, why don’t you give these intriguing Marcus Garvey quotes a read?
I’m sure they’ll inspire you to learn more about the troubling history of African Americans and racial segregation. Unfortunately, as the world still fails to unite and continues to discriminate against those who differ from them, this topic will remain relevant for the foreseeable future.
Marcus Garvey Quotes on Africa and Africans
#1. “The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.”
#2. “I have no desire to take all Black people back to Africa; there are Blacks who are no good here and will likewise be no good there.”
#3. “Africa has become the big game of the nation hunters. Today, Africa looms as the greatest commercial, industrial and political prize in the world.”
#4. “Africa for the Africans… at home and abroad!”
#5. “Glorious shall be the battle when the time comes to fight for our people and our race.”
#6. “Our success educationally, industrially and politically is based upon the protection of a nation founded by ourselves. And the nation can be nowhere else but in Africa.”
#7. “The enemies are not so much from without as from within the race.”
#8. “Ethiopia shall once more arise from the ashes of material ruin to the heights of temporal glory.”
#9. “We welcome the opposition of the world, because we are determined to see the battle through. Africa’s battle-cry is not yet heard.”
Marcus Garvey Quotes on Liberty and Justice
#10. “Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men.”
#11. “Men, there is much to live for, and there is much to die for. The man, the race of nation that is not prepared to risk life itself for the possession of an ideal, shall lose that ideal. If you, I repeat, must be free, you yourselves must strike the blow.”
#12. “Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will.”
#13. “I know no national boundary where the Negro is concerned. The whole world is my province until Africa is free.”
#14. “This hour we are stretching forth our hands with the desire to teach the world the true principles of mercy and justice.”
#15. “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind.”
#16. “There shall be no solution to this race problem until you, yourselves, strike the blow for liberty.”
#17. “Marcus Garvey does not give a snap for anything human but justice, and that which is based upon righteousness.”
Marcus Garvey Quotes on God and Faith
#18. “God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.”
#19. “We see a new Ethiopia, a new Africa, stretching her hands of influence throughout the world, teaching man the way of life and peace, The Way to God.”
#20. “Some of us seem to accept the fatalist position, the fatalist attitude, that God accorded to us a certain position and condition, and therefore there is no need trying to be otherwise. The moment you accept such an attitude, the moment you accept such an opinion, the moment you harbor such an idea, you hurl an insult at the great God who created you, because you question Him for His love, you question Him for His mercy.”
#21. “God acts indifferently and his plan and purpose is generally worked out through the agency of human action. In his directed, inspired prophecy, he promised that Ethiopia’s day would come, not by the world-changing towards us, but by our stretching out our hands unto him.”
#22. “Lose not courage, lose not faith, go forward.”
Marcus Garvey Quotes for When You Need a Motivation Boost
#23. “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won before you have started.”
#24. “Real men laugh at opposition; real men smile when enemies appear.”
#25. “Whatsoever things common to man, that man has done, man can do.”
#26. “Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences.”
#27. “There is no height to which we cannot climb by using the active intelligence of our own minds. Mind creates and as much as we desire in nature we can have through the creation of our own minds.”
#28. “Progress is the attraction that moves humanity.”
#29. “There is no force like success, and that is why the individual makes all effort to surround himself throughout life with the evidence of it.”
#30. “Take advantage of every opportunity; where there is none, make it for yourself.”
#31. “If we as a people realized the greatness from which we came we would be less likely to disrespect ourselves.”
#32. “I trust that you will so live today as to realize that you are masters of your own destiny, masters of your fate; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to strike out with confidence and faith in self and reach for it.”
Final Thoughts
Marcus Garvey taught us about the importance of knowing and respecting our heritage, as well as perseverance when times are tough. And if anybody knows anything about tough times, it’s African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Even to this day, especially in the U.S., it seems as though the words of African Americans need to be twice as loud to be heard. They still have to fight for the most basic of human rights.
Well, that needs to change. For one, everybody needs to hear and learn from these Marcus Garvey quotes, no matter their nationality or skin color.
Image source: Marcus Garvey photo from pinterest.com
