Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), had a dream of uniting all people of African descent. Proclaiming an agenda of Black pride, nationalism, and economic independence in the 1910s, the Jamaican-born activist struck a chord to some…and a nerve to others. Some called him the “Black Moses.” In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that Marcus Garvey was “the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement. He was the first man on a mass scale and level to give millions to Negroes and make the Negro feel he was somebody.” A contemporary New York Times editorial, however, referred to Garvey as a “despotic dreamer” and a “menace to his people and this country.”
Regardless, Marcus Garvey’s popularity and influence could not be denied. The UNIA had between two to four million members around the world and in at least 30 American cities by the early 1920s. Garvey was at the height of his power at this time. He felt it was time to take his vision to the next level.
In late 1919, the ever-eloquent Garvey picked up his pen and wrote:
On October 31 the Negro people of the world, acting through six thousand of their representatives in New York, purchased a steamship which they are rechristening the SS Frederick Douglass; and they said, “We are doing this because we desire to get our share of the world’s goods, so long as creation lasts.” The object was to run a line of steamships between the United States, Africa, Canada, the West Indies, and Central America. Thousands of black men and white men said that it could not be done. They said that the Negro had no initiative, that he was not a businessman but a laborer, that he had not the brain to engineer a corporation, to own and run ships, that he had no knowledge of navigation, therefore the proposition was impossible.
“Oh! ye of little faith.” The eternal has happened. The Negro incorporated a steamship enterprise by the name of the Black Star Line; he placed $500,000 of common stock on the market at $5 a share, and in ten weeks he sold so many shares to his own people that he was able on October 31 to take over the first steamship ever owned by the race in modern times. On November 23 the ship sailed out of New York harbor with a Negro captain and Negro crew—a sight that was witnessed by nearly fifteen thousand people, and at the time of writing, she is now discharging a load of cement at Sagua, Cuba, in the West Indies.
The Black Star Line was Black owned, operated, and financed. Through it, Marcus Garvey and the UNIA sought to create financial independence and pride for the Black community worldwide. It was a grand vision. But the Black Star Line experienced problems from the beginning. Inexperience, mismanagement, and infiltration from the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner to the Federal Bureau of Investigation) contributed to the Black Star Line’s ultimate failure in 1922 and Garvey’s eventual arrest on a charge of mail fraud (which many believe was politically and racially motivated).
Garvey’s Vision
Marcus Garvey was born in Saint Ann’s Bay, Jamaica on August 17, 1887. Apprenticed as a printer as a teenager, he soon became involved in trade unionism and became a vice president in the Printer’s Union. The union went on strike in November 1908 but broken just weeks later. Garvey was fired from his job and labeled a troublemaker. Infuriated by the inequalities in Jamaica, he became more and more active in the Nationalist Club, the colony’s first nationalist organization. Putting his print skills to work, he published the short-lived newspaper called Garvey’s Watchman. But it was during this time that Garvey enrolled in elocution lessons and started speaking publicly.
In 1910, Garvey went to Costa Rica to work as a timekeeper on a United Fruit Company (UFC) banana plantation. He saw inequalities here too, which angered him. Garvey subsequently worked his through Central America and set up several newspapers along the way. He returned to Kingston, Jamaica in 1911 after contracting an illness. In Spring 1912, Garvey went to London. Garvey worked on the docks before being hired by the African Times and Orient Review. While studying at the British Museum, he eventually discovered Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery. It had a profound impact on Garvey. While sailing back to Jamaica aboard SS Trent in June 1914, Garvey began envisioning a global movement to politically and economically unite Black people.
Upon returning to Jamaica that July, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association with the intent to “establish a brotherhood among the black race, to promote a spirit of race pride, to reclaim the fallen and to assist in civilising the backward tribes of Africa.” He moved to the United States in March 1916 and settled in Harlem, New York. It became the UNIA’s worldwide headquarters by 1918. Its weekly newspaper, The Negro World, eventually reached a circulation of between 200,000 to 500,000 readers. Due to its Black nationalist and anti-colonial message, several countries banned the paper (including Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad, and British Guiana). Support for Garvey and the UNIA grew tremendously during this time.
A Powerful Agency for Good
The Black Star Line was established in Delaware on June 27, 1919. Garvey saw the shipping company as a way for Black people to establish economic independence and create great pride across the African diaspora. Black crews would proudly sail their ships into colonial-held ports and inspire the oppressed local populations. Black passengers could sail the world’s oceans and not worry about discrimination. The Black Star Line would do all this and more for the African people of the world.
Garvey elaborated in late 1919:
Africa must be redeemed, but before her redemption, we have to prove to the world that we are fit. The chance to make ourselves fit is now presented to every son and daughter of Africa. We must now achieve in commerce, science, education, art, industry, and politics. The Black Star Line Steamship Corporation of 56 West 135th Street, New York, is leading the way for the success of the race in commerce and industry. This corporation desires the assistance of every black man, woman, and child. The hope of this corporation is to have the ships of the Negro float on every sea. Our commerce shall extend to every nook and corner of the world, through the Black Star Line. It is therefore up to each and every one of the race to do his and her duty by buying shares in this corporation to make it a powerful agency for good. You may buy your shares today and help to found the empire of greatness for the race.
Thousands bought stock in the Black Star Line. The company had a maximum capitalization of $500,000. Six months later, the company’s board of directors voted to increase its capitalization to $10 million.
“The hope of this corporation is to have the ships of the Negro float on every sea.”
The Black Star Line acquired its first ship in September 1919, a mere three months after being established. The SS Yarmouth — a 1,432 GRT cargo liner launched in 1887 for the Yarmouth Steamship Company — saw service in World War I as a collier. In poor condition and in dire need of repairs, the Black Star Line paid an astonishing $171,500 for the 32-year-old vessel (minus the cost for repairs). But they had a ship. Renamed the SS Frederick Douglass, it became the Black Star Line’s flagship. Captain Joshua Cockburn, one of the few Black master mariners in America, procured the ship for the company and later commanded it. Hiring him was a publicity boon for the Black Star Line. However, it seems that Captain Cockburn took a bribe from Yarmouth’s owners for procuring the worn-out, grossly overpriced vessel.
In three years of service, the SS Frederick Douglass (though it officially remained the Yarmouth) never made a dollar for the Black Star Line. A cargo of coconuts rotted one voyage due to delays. On another, the Frederick Douglass started taking on water when her cargo of alcohol shifted. To reduce weight, 500 cases of whiskey and champagne were tossed overboard on Captain Cockburn’s orders (local boats apparently picked these up fairly quickly). The Black Star Line paid more in damages than it did in profit. In the end, a Captain Dixon replaced Cockburn for the Frederick Douglass’ final voyage.
But that did little to dim enthusiasm about the ship aboard. Thousands watched when the Frederick Douglass departed Harlem’s 135th Street dock. “We stood on a pile of logs and watched hundreds of people jump up and down, throw up their hats and handkerchiefs and cheer while the ‘Yarmouth’ backed from the wharf and slowly glided down the North River,” one spectator recalled. The ship arrived in Cuba for the first time on December 2, 1919. “People are just crazy about the organization,” Captain Cockburn noted when the Frederick Douglass arrived in Cuba on December 2, 1919. Black people warmly welcomed her wherever she went. It was an unforgettable sight.
Ultimately, however, the Black Star Line couldn’t keep up with ship’s hemorrhaging losses. The Frederick Douglass was ultimately seized and sold at public auction in November 1921. She fetched a total of $1,625. Philadelphia’s Pottsdown Steel Company finally broke up the old cargo liner.
The Black Star Line acquired two other ships during its brief existence. They too were old ships in poor condition that the company overpaid for.
The steamboat Shady Side joined the Black Star Line fleet in March 22, 1920. She cost $35,000. Built in 1873 for the Morrisania Steamboat Company, she was a Hudson River excursion boat for years. In its heyday, the ship was “remarkably swift.” Interestingly, she kept her original name. Commanded by Captain Jacob Wise, the Shady Side found herself making trips up and down the Hudson River. She was unsuccessful and incurred a $10,952 loss during her first season. The ship was withdrawn that August and laid up in Fort Lee, New Jersey until sinking in a snow storm the following year.
The steam yacht Kanawha joined the Shady Side on April 23, 1920. She cost $60,000. Built in 1899 for John Paterson Duncan of the New York Yacht Club, she changed owners several times. The 475 GRT yacht served as a patrol craft during World War I and renamed the USS Piqua. The Black Star Line rechristened her as the Antonio Maceo (but like the Yarmouth, officially remained the Kanawha). Billed as “the Speediest and Best Passenger Accommodation to the Islands of the Black Star Line,” its career ended in tragedy. On August 29, 1920, one of the ship’s boilers exploded and killed a crewman. The Antonio Maceo was left adrift after the explosion. The US revenue cutters Manning and Seminole rescued the stricken ship. She was ultimately abandoned and sank in 1925 after being swept away from her moorings in a storm.
All of the Black Star Line’s ships fell short of the glorious, distinguished careers its directors had intended. They were costly to maintain and operate, which doesn’t include the high price that the company paid for them. The Black Star Line ultimately suspended operations in February 1922 after less than three years of existence. It was an inglorious end to a venture that held such high promise.
The Black Star Line faced several issues in its brief life. Inexperience in running a steamship company lead to a lot of the Black Star Line’s problems. Greed and corruption by some within the company didn’t help either. But Marcus Garvey’s grand vision of “a powerful agency for good” was beset by other, external factors.
Namely J. Edgar Hoover and the Bureau of Investigation.
Next Post in Series: The Fall of a Powerful Agency for Good: Marcus Garvey, the Black Star Line, and Their Enemies
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