Drew Patti

African American Political Thought

Professor Moynagh

February 27, 2019

Discussion Question #16

Question: Compare Du Bois’ and Garvey’s views of African Americans’ relationship to

America. To Africa.

A Jamaican-American priest by the name of Ecumenical Patriarchate, along with others,

wrote that Garvey’s views were “damaging to both the reputation of their homeland and its

people, enumerating several objections to Garvey’s stated preference for the prejudice of the

American whites over that of English whites” (Location 5284). Du Bois describes this viewpoint

of Garvey’s as “a complete separation a capitulation to white supremacy; a tacit admission that

Blacks could never be equal to Whites (Location 5297).

While not entirely disagreeing with Garvey views in saying that the Black Star was

“original and promising”, Du Bois definitely feels that Garvey is “the most dangerous enemy to

the Negro race in America and in the world” (Location 5297). Clearly, there is an animosity

between both Du Bois and Garvey, but Du Bois seems to realize the relationship of African

Americans to America as unfair and worth changing. Whereas Garvey seems to view it as law

and why it should be so that Africans work on building there own “America” in Africa.