One of the remarkable outcomes of
the first International Convention of Negro Peoples of the World hosted by the
Universal Negro Improvement Association at Madison Square Gardens in August
1-31, 1920, was the adoption and signing of the “Declaration of the Rights of the
Negro Peoples of the World.”
This groundbreaking document
protested “the wrongs and injustices” against peoples of African descent and
proposed a solution ‘to demand of all men in the future.”
25. We further demand free speech
universally for all men.
27. We believe in the self-determination
of all peoples.
28. We declare for the freedom of
religious worship
These three rights in particular would
eventually be recognized twenty-eight years
later in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which would be ratified
by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. It has now become cliché, but
Garvey was indeed a man ahead of his times.
***
Drafted and adopted at Convention
held in New York, 1920, over which Marcus Garvey presided as Chairman, and at
which he was elected Provisional President of Africa.
Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples
of the World
Preamble
Be
it Resolved,
That the Negro people of the world, through their chosen representatives in
convention assembled in Liberty Hall, in the City of New York and United States
of America, from August 1 to August 31, in the year of our Lord, one thousand
nine hundred and twenty, protest against the wrongs and injustices they are
suffering at the hands of their white brethren, and state what they deem their
fair and just rights, as well as the treatment they propose to demand of all
men in the future.
We complain:
I. That nowhere in the world, with
few exceptions, are black men accorded equal treatment with white men, although
in the same situation and circumstances, but, on the contrary, are
discriminated against and denied the common rights due to human beings for no
other reason than their race and color.
We are not willingly accepted as
guests in the public hotels and inns of the world for no other reason than our
race and color.
II. In certain parts of the United
States of America our race is denied the right of public trial accorded to
other races when accused of crime, but are lynched and burned by mobs, and such
brutal and inhuman treatment is even practiced upon our women.
III. That European nations have
parcelled out among themselves and taken possession of nearly all of the
continent of Africa, and the natives are compelled to surrender their lands to
aliens and are treated in most instances like slaves.
IV. In the southern portion of the
United States of America, although citizens under the Federal Constitution, and
in some states almost equal to the whites in population and are qualified land
owners and taxpayers, we are, nevertheless, denied all voice in the making and
administration of the laws and are taxed without representation by the state
governments, and at the same time compelled to do military service in defense
of the country.
V. On the public conveyances and
common carriers in the Southern portion of the United States we are jim-crowed
and compelled to accept separate and inferior accommodations and made to pay
the same fare charged for first-class accommodations, and our families are
often humiliated and insulted by drunken white men who habitually pass through
the jim-crow cars going to the smoking car.
VI. The physicians of our race are
denied the right to attend their patients while in the public hospitals of the
cities and states where they reside in certain parts of the United States. Our
children are forced to attend inferior separate schools for shorter terms than
white children, and the public school funds are unequally divided between the
white and colored schools.
VII. We are discriminated against
and denied an equal chance to earn wages for the support of our families, and
in many instances are refused admission into labor unions, and nearly
everywhere are paid smaller wages than white men.
VIII. In Civil Service and
departmental offices we are everywhere discriminated against and made to feel
that to be a black man in Europe, America and the West Indies is equivalent to
being an outcast and a leper among the races of men, no matter what the character
and attainments of the black man may be.
IX. In the British and other West
Indian Islands and colonies, Negroes are secretly and cunningly discriminated
against, and denied those fuller rights in government to which white citizens
are appointed, nominated and elected.
X. That our people in those parts
are forced to work for lower wages than the average standard of white men and
are kept in conditions repugnant to good civilized tastes and customs.
XI. That the many acts of injustice
against members of our race before the courts of law in the respective islands
and colonies are of such nature as to create disgust and disrespect for the
white man's sense of justice.
XII. Against all such inhuman,
unchristian and uncivilized treatment we here and now emphatically protest, and
invoke the condemnation of all mankind. In order to encourage our race all over
the world and to stimulate it to a higher and grander destiny, we demand and
insist on the following Declaration of Rights:
1. Be it known to all men that
whereas, all men are created equal and entitled to the rights of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness, and because of this we, the duly elected
representatives of the Negro peoples of the world, invoking the aid of the just
and Almighty God do declare all men women and children of our blood throughout
the world free citizens, and do claim them as free citizens of Africa, the
Motherland of all Negroes.
2. That we believe in the supreme
authority of our race in all things racial; that all things are created and
given to man as a common possession; that there should be an equitable
distribution and apportionment of all such things, and in consideration of the
fact that as a race we are now deprived of those things that are morally and
legally ours, we believe it right that all such things should be acquired and
held by whatsoever means possible.
3. That we believe the Negro, like
any other race, should be governed by the ethics of civilization, and,
therefore, should not be deprived of any of those rights or privileges common
to other human beings.
4. We declare that Negroes,
wheresoever they form a community among themselves, should be given the right
to elect their own representatives to represent them in legislatures, courts of
law, or such institutions as may exercise control over that particular
community.
5. We assert that the Negro is
entitled to even-handed justice before all courts of law and equity in whatever
country he may be found, and when this is denied him on account of his race or
color such denial is an insult to the race as a while and should be resented by
the entire boy of Negroes.
6. We declared it unfair and
prejudicial to the rights of Negroes in communities where they exist in
considerable numbers to be tried by a judge and jury composed entirely of an
alien race, but in all such cases members of our race are entitled to
representation on the jury.
7. We believe that any law or
practice that tends to deprive any African of his land or the privileges of
free citizenship within his country is unjust and immoral, and no native should
respect any such law or practice.
8. We declare taxation without
representation unjust and tyrannous, and there should be no obligation on the
part of the Negro to obey the levy of a tax by an law-making body from which he
is excluded and denied representation on account of his race and color.
9. We believe that any law
especially directed against the Negro to his detriment and singling him out
because of his race or color is unfair and immoral, and should not be
respected.
10. We believe all men entitled to
common human respect, and that our race should in no way tolerate any insults
that may be interpreted to mean disrespect to our color.
11. We deprecate the use of the term
"nigger" as applied to Negroes, and demand that the word
"Negro" be written with a capital "N."
12. We believe that the Negro should
adopt every means to protect himself against barbarous practices inflicted upon
him because of color.
13. We believe in the freedom of
Africa for the Negro people of the world, and by the principle of Europe for
the Europeans and Asia for the Asiatics; we also demand Africa for the Africans
at home and abroad.
14. We believe in the inherent right
of the Negro to possess himself of Africa, and that his possession of same
shall not be regarded as an infringement on any claim or purchase made by any
race or nation.
15. We strongly condemn the cupidity
of those nations of the world who, by open aggression or secret schemes, have
seized the territories and inexhaustible natural wealth of Africa, and we place
on record our most solemn determination to reclaim the treasures and possession
of the vast continent of our forefathers.
16. We believe all men should live
in peace one with the other, but when races and nations provoke the ire of
other races and nations by attempting to infringe upon their rights, war
becomes inevitable, and the attempt in any way to free one’s self or protect
one’s rights or heritage becomes justifiable.
17. Whereas, the lynching, by
burning, hanging or any other means, of human beings is a barbarous practice,
and a shame and disgrace to civilization, we therefore declared any country
guilty of such atrocities outside the pale of civilization.
18. We protest against the atrocious
crime of whipping, flogging and overworking of the native tribes of Africa and
Negroes everywhere. These are methods that should be abolished, and all means
should be taken to prevent a continuance of such brutal practices.
19. We protest against the atrocious
practice of shaving the heads of Africans, especially of African women or
individual of Negro blood, when placed in prison as a punishment for crime by
an alien race.
20. We protest against segregated
districts, separate public conveyances, industrial discrimination, lynchings
and limitations of political privileges of any Negro citizen in any part of the
world on account of race, color, or creed, and will exert our full influence
and power against all such.
21. We protest against any
punishment inflicted upon a Negro with severity, as against lighter punishment
inflicted upon another of an alien race for like offense, as an act of
prejudice injustice, and should be resented by the entire race.
22. We protest against the system of
education in any country where Negroes are denied the same privileges and
advantages as other races.
23. We declare it inhuman and unfair
to boycott Negroes from industries and labor in any part of the world.
24. We believe in the doctrine of
the freedom of the press, and we therefore emphatically protest against the
suppression Negro newspapers and periodicals in various parts of the world, and
call upon Negroes everywhere to employ all available means to prevent such
suppression.
25. We further demand free speech
universally for all men.
26. We hereby protest against the
publication of scandalous and inflammatory articles by an alien press tending
to create racial strife and the exhibition of picture films showing the Negro
as a cannibal.
27. We believe in the
self-determination of all peoples.
28. We declare for the freedom
religious worship.
29. With the help of Almighty God,
we declare ourselves the protectors of the honor and virtue of our women and
children, and pledge our lives for their protection and defense everywhere, and
under all circumstances from wrongs and outrages.
30. We demand the right of unlimited
and unprejudiced education for ourselves and our posterity forever.
31. We declare that the teaching in
any school by alien teachers to our boys and girls, that the alien race is
superior to the Negro race, is an insult to the Negro people of the world.
32. Where Negroes form a part of the
citizenry of any country, and pass the civil service examination of such
country, we declare them entitled to the same consideration as other citizens
as to appointments in such civil service.
33. We vigorously protest against
the increasingly unfair and unjust treatment accorded Negro travelers on land
and sea by the agents and employees of railroad and steamship companies and
insist that for equal fare we receive equal privileges with travelers of other
races.
34. We declare it unjust for any
country, State or nation to enact laws tending to hinder and obstruct the free
immigration of Negroes on account of their race and color.
35. That the right of the Negro to
travel unmolested throughout the world be not abridged by any person or
persons, and all Negroes are called upon to give aid to a fellow Negro when
thus molested.
36. We declare that all Negroes are
entitled to the same right to travel over the world as other men.
37. We hereby demand that the
governments of the world recognize our leader and his representatives chosen by
the race to look after the welfare of our people under such governments.
38. We demand complete control of
our social institutions without interference by any alien race or races.
39. That the colors, Red, Black and
Green, be the colors of the Negro race.
40. Resolved, That the anthem
"Ethiopia, Thou Land of Our Fathers," etc., shall be the anthem of
the Negro race.
41. We believe that any limited
liberty which deprives one of the complete rights and prerogatives of full
citizenship is but a modified form of slavery.
42. We declare it an injustice to
our people and a serious impediment to the health of the race to deny to
competent licensed Negro physicians the right to practice in the public
hospitals of the communities in which they reside, for no other reason than
their race and color.
43. We call upon the various
governments of the world to accept and acknowledge Negro representatives who
shall be sent to the said governments to represent the general welfare of the
Negro peoples of the world.
44. We deplore and protest against
the practice of confining juvenile prisoners in prisons with adults, and we
recommend that such youthful prisoners be taught gainful trades under humane
supervision.
45. Be it further resolved, that we
as a race of people declare the League of Nations null and void as far as the
Negro is concerned, in that it seeks to deprive Negroes of their liberty.
46. We demand of all men to do unto
us as we would do unto them, in the name of justice; and we cheerfully accord
to all men all the rights we claim herein for ourselves.
47. We declare that no Negro shall
engage himself in battle for an alien race without first obtaining the consent
of the leader of the Negro people of the world, except in a matter of national
self-defense.
48. We protest against the practice
of drafting Negroes and sending them to war with alien forces without proper
training, and demand in all cases that Negro soldiers be given the same
training as the aliens.
49. We demand that instructions
given Negro children in schools include the subject of "Negro
History," to their benefit.
50. We demand a free and unfettered
commercial intercourse with all the Negro people of the world.
51. We declare for the absolute
freedom of the seas for all peoples.
52. We demand that our duly
accredited representatives be given proper recognition in all leagues,
conferences, conventions or courts of international arbitration wherever human
rights are discussed.
53. We proclaim the 31st day of
August of each year to be an international holiday to be observed by all
Negroes.
54. We want all men to know we shall
maintain and contend for the freedom and equality of every man, woman and child
of our race, with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
These rights we believe to be justly
ours and proper for the protection of the Negro race at large, and because of
this belief we, on behalf of the four hundred million Negroes of the world, do
pledge herein the sacred blood of the race in defense, and we hereby subscribe
our names as a guarantee of the truthfulness and faithfulness hereof in the
presence of Almighty God, on the 13th day of August, in the year of our Lord
one thousand nine hundred and twenty.
Marcus Garvey, James D. Brooks,
James W. H. Eason, Henrietta Vinton Davis, Lionel Winston Greenidge, Adrion
Fitzroy Johnson, Rudolph Ethelbert Brissaac Smith, Charles Augustus Petioni,
Thomas H. N. Simon, Richard Hilton Tobitt, George Alexander McGuire, Peter
Edward Baston, Reynold R. Felix, Harry Walters Kirby, Sarah Branch, Marie
Barrier Houston, George L. O'Brien, F.O. Ogilvie, Arden A. Bryan, Benjamin
Dyett, Marie Duchaterlier, John Phillip Hodge, Theophilus H. Saunders, Wilford
H. Smith, Gabriel E. Stewart, Arnold Josiah Ford, Lee Crawford, William
McCartney, Adina Clem. James, William Musgrave La Motte, John Sydney de Bourg,
Arnold S. Cunning, Vernal J. Williams, Frances Wilcome Ellegor, J. Frederick
Selkridge, Innis Abel Horsford, Cyril A. Crichlow, Samuel McIntyre, John Thomas
Wilkins, Mary Thurston, John G. Befue, William Ware, J. A. Lewis, O. C.
Thurston, Venture R. Hamilton, R. H. Hodge, Edward Alfred Taylor, Ellen Wilson,
G.W. Wilson, Richard Edward Riley, Nellie Grant Whiting, G. W. Washington,
Maldena Miller, Gertrude Davis, James D. Williams, Emily Christmas Kinch, D. D.
Lewis, Nettie Clayton, Partheria Hills, Janie Jenkins, John C. Simons, Alphonso
A. Jones, Allen Hobbs, Reynold Fitzgerald Austin, James Benjamin Yearwood,
Frank O. Raines, Shedrick Williams, John Edward Ivey, Frederick August Toote,
Philip Hemmings, F. F. Smith, E. J. Jones, Joseph Josiah Cranston, Frederick
Samuel Ricketts, Dugald Augustus Wade, E. E. Nelom, Florida Jenkins, Napoleon
J. Francis, Joseph D. Gibson, J. P. Jasper, J. W. Montgomery, David Benjamin,
J. Gordon, Harry E. Ford, Carrie M. Ashford, Andrew N. Willis, Lucy Sands,
Louise Woodson, George D. Creese, W. A. Wallace, Thomas E. Bagley, James Young,
Prince Alfred McConney, John E. Hudson, William Ines, Harry R. Watkins, C.L.
Halton, J. T. Bailey, Ira Joseph Touissant Wright, T. H. Golden, Abraham
Benjamin Thomas, Richard C. Noble, Walter Green, C. S. Bourne, G. F. Bennett,
B. D. Levy, Mary E. Johnson, Lionel Antonio Francis, Carl Roper, E. R. Donawa,
Philip Van Putten, I. Brathwaite, Jesse W. Luck, Oliver Kaye, J. W. Hudspeth,
C. B. Lovell, William C. Matthews, A. Williams, Ratford E. M. Jack, H. Vinton
Plummer, Randolph Phillips, A. I. Bailey, duly elected representatives of the
Negro people of the world.
Sworn before me this 15th day of
August, 1920.
[Legal Seal] JOHN G. BAYNE.
Notary Public, New York County.
New York County Clerk's No. 378; New
York County Register's No. 12102. Commission expires March 30, 1922.
Excerpt from Amy Jacques-Garvey, ed.
Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus
Garvey. New York: Athenaeum, 1969
***
The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:
http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
