School of African Philosophy collection

1938

Correspondence course originated by Marcus Garvey in 1937 which was designed to train Universal Negro Improvement Association officials and organizers for leadership positions. The School of African Philosophy course consisted of twenty-one lessons and covered forty-two subjects ranging from communism to diplomacy to love. Garvey intended to give the students a view of the world that would not only replace pervasive Eurocentric philosophy, but would also affirm them as black people so that they could become actors in their own fate. Only graduates of the School could become official representatives of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The themes of the lessons were replete with Garvey's philosophy of success and prosperity with an emphasis on discipline. Throughout 1938 and 1939, the School of African Philosophy advertised in "The Black Man" as a correspondence course. The School of African Philosophy Collection consists of a 1938 letter sent to Ms. Hazel Escridge, along with nine lessons and the Declaration of Oath. The latter includes a commitment to prevent other people from seeing the lessons, especially other races.