The Importance of Organizing in the Black Community

This& post& was originally published on& Defender Network By Aswad Walker | Houston Defender | Word In Black (WIB) – Marcus Mosiah Garvey, arguably the greatest and most under-appreciated Black leader in history, said, “The greatest weapon used against the Negro is disorganization.” Garvey, who organized and led the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), a Pan-Africanist movement in the 1920s that boasted over six million members globally, also stated and fully believed that “God is really on the side of the strongest peoples because God made all [people] equal and He never superior power to any one class or group of people over another, and anyone who can get the advantage over another is pleasing God.” Both quotes are Garvey’s plea to Black people to get organized, and to work together through organizations because fighting against organized, institutionalized oppression and injustice can only be done via groups – organized groups. With the first quote, Garvey’s message and meaning is clear – if we’re disorganized, if we shun the work of getting organized, if we operate amid disorganization, we’re only hurting ourselves, our families and the causes and principles in which we believe. The second quote may be a little less...