The African Diaspora understood fully well the common and shared experience of persecuted Africans and Jews. Blacks were historic witnesses to the humiliation of Jews. Black Jews knew for a long time that they were a double target of hate. Since Marcus Garvey, pan-africans were also aware that being a victim does not individually absolve from responsibility. As there were plenty of individual Black traitors throughout history, there were also Jews who betrayed their people. Jews are humans, being victims for centuries does not make them or blacks moral superheroes. Some love to show examples of the moral failures of the few Blacks or Jews who were slave owners or the few here and there who were hired by fascist criminals to commit violence against their communities, or even regular bandits and thieves. Racism thrives on such false equivalences. Everytime police shoot unarmed Black people in the US, the kneejerk Right Wing answer is to bring up Black-on-Black crime. Since Marcus Garvey days, pan-africans also understood that religion is not about abstract belief in the hereafter. From the point of view of the people it addresses and admonishes, who exist since slavery in Egypt up to today, the Bible is a survival guide in the midst of oppression.Spirituality is the fundamental human right, being human means to have the full potential to the highest levels of awareness. But this comes with the obligation of dignity and respect for all human life. Fighting for the preservation of this dignity is the message Garvey drew from the Bible narrative. He fully understood that it was not by accident that Black people held on so deeply to the Hebrew narrative. The Black Diaspora took on Garvey’s message wholeheartedly, because it corresponded, and truthfully resonated with their experience, from its physical to spiritual dimensions. Marcus Garvey was not perfect, nor did he claim to be. He would trust us to know better about our times than he did. But sadly too many people today, do not even have the thinking basis which was covered by his philosophy.
The Garvey movement showed that systemic persecution of Blacks in the Diaspora can only happen in the background of Africa being erased from the discussions.
Garvey understood that the material plunder of Africa’s resources was the reason behind this voluntary erasure. The first persecution is to erase Africa from the memories, and invent a new narrative. This is why we hear much about ‘slavery’ but nothing about African identity. In the same way we hear much about antisemitism, but nothing about the universal Jewish wisdom of Torah, which forbids death penalty in any form, and which condemns war, and which promotes social justice in the strongest terms.
Since the days of Marcus Garvey, pan-africans know. Not anyone who calls themselves “panafrican” can say this. Many use this term, yet they are enemies of Africa. They shamelessly insult our great unifying thinkers such as Emperor Haile Selassie. They join hands with separatist entities who fight against African Unity. But remember: Marcus Garvey lead the biggest Black Movement in African history.
Martin Luther King, Kwame Nkrumah, and many others were fed Garvey with their mother’s milk. Millions of African American grandparents attended the Garvey rallies. They were already told. Black Jews stood side by side with Garvey. His fight for human dignity was not crowned by victory in his days. But it led the path for the entire world to hear the words: “ Until the philosophy, which holds one race superior and another inferior, shall be discredited and abandoned..there shall be war”. These words pronounced by Emperor Haile Selassie resonated from the United Nations podium to the entire world, and were made into an auditory world monument by Bob Marley. Garvey prepared the ears and the heart of the world to listen very carefully. In another famous song, Marley says:” Give us the teachings of His Majesty, we don’t need no Devil philosophy”. This means that the words of His Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie do not need the artificial creation of a Devil, upon whom you can conveniently blame everything. Unlike some who claim to be pan-african but still need to create a “devil”. The true devil is the philosophy which uses racism as a tool. It demonizes people based on race. But it gladly uses them for profit, cheap labor, and conquest. Since Garvey days, this has not changed.