Hidden Figures: Amy Jacques Garvey #BlackHERstoryMonth 28/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Amy Jacques Garvey #BlackHERstoryMonth 28/28

Amy Euphemia Jacques Garvey (31 December 1895 – 25 July 1973) was the Jamaican-born second wife of Marcus Garvey, and a journalist and activist in her own right. She was one of the pioneering Black women journalists and publishers of the 20th century. Amy Euphemia Jacques was born on December 31, 1895 in Kingston, Jamaica. Her upbringing allowed her to attend high school during a time when less than 2% of the youth in Jamaica attended. Jacques was a forward-thinking woman with radical political ideals about Black consciousness and the results of colonization, and upon graduating school she was recruited to work at a law firm. Her father initially said no, refusing to allow his daughter to work in an environment with males, but after his death she went on to work there for four years, ultimately gaining knowledge of the legal system. Jacques left for the United States in 1918, after learning of the works of Marcus Garvey, a fellow Jamaican, and becoming enthralled by Garveyism. She attended a conference being held by Garvey in the States and was moved by his words, soon after assuming the role of his private secretary and working alongside him in the Universal Negro Improvement Association or the UNIA. Garvey divorced his first wife, activist Amy Ashwood, in June 1922 to marry Jacques. Just several months after marrying Marcus, Jacques began editing volume 1 of the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey (a compilation of Marcus's writings and speeches). Jacques became a face of the UNIA, and a representation of the females of this organization. When Garvey was convicted of mail fraud on June 21, 1923,, she was forced to assume a lead role in UNIA. In addition to speaking all over the country to raise money for Garvey's defense fund, she edited and published volume 2 of the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, as well as two volumes of his poetry, The Tragedy of White Injustice and Selections from the Poetic Meditations of Marcus Garvey. After Garvey’s death in 1940, Jacques continued the struggle for black nationalism and African independence. In 1944 she wrote “A Memorandum Correlative of Africa, West Indies and the Americas,” which she used to convince U.N. representatives to adopt an African Freedom Charter. In November 1963, Jacques visited Nigeria as a guest of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was being installed as that nation's first Governor-General. She published her own book, Garvey and Garveyism, in 1963, as well as a booklet, Black Power in America: The Power of the Human Spirit, in 1968. She also assisted John Henrik Clarke in editing Marcus Garvey and the Vision of Africa (1974). Her final work was the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey volume III. She was awarded the Musgrave Medal, an annual awarded by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature, in 1971. Jacques died on 25 July 1973, in her native Kingston, Jamaica. #AmyJacquesGarvey #HiddenFigures ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: The Veiled Garvey: The Life and Times of Amy Jacques Garvey (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Veiled-Garvey-Life-Times-Jacques/dp/0807853860 Garvey and Garveyism (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Garvey-Garveyism-Amy-Jacques/dp/1574781162 "Women As Leaders" by Amy Jacques Garvey: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/garveywomenasleaders.html 'Uncovering the Silences of Black Women’s Voices in the Age of Garvey:' https://www.aaihs.org/uncovering-the-silences/ 'Amy Jacques Garvey:' https://sta.uwi.edu/igds/20thanniversary/amyjacquesgarvey.asp 'Garvey, Amy Jacques (1896-1973):' http://www.blackpast.org/aah/garvey-amy-jacques-1896-1973 '7 Black Female Thought Leaders History Books Ignore:' http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/12/03/7-black-female-thought-leaders-history-books-ignore/4/ Amy Jacques Garvey (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Jacques_Garvey