Loading...
Creator
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Call number
Sc MG 442
Physical description
0.26 linear feet (1 oversize folder, 1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Universal Negro Improvement Association miscellaneous collection, Sc MG 442, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Sponsor
Home to Harlem Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was an international self-help organization founded in 1914 by Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) in Jamaica. The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) miscellaneous collection is comprised of several file-folder level collections. The collections contain materials dating from the early 1920s and include such memorabilia as membership certificates and loan books, Black Star Line certificates, and receipts for shares in the shipping line. Correspondence in the collection from UNIA and Garvey Club officials include letters from Marcus and Amy Jacques Garvey, Gershom Harris, Uriah Gittens and Cecil A. Walters and disclose such concerns as the negative portrayal of Blacks in film and the ongoing development of both the UNIA and Garvey Clubs. Antithetically opposed to such growth, the correspondence from British colonial officials in West Africa and the Caribbean reveal their anxieties about the increasing presence of UNIA members and propaganda in their colonies.

Biographical/historical information

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was an international self-help organization founded in 1914 by Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) in Jamaica.

Scope and arrangement

The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) miscellaneous collection is comprised of several file-folder level collections. The collections contain materials dating from the early 1920s and include such memorabilia as membership certificates and loan books, Black Star Line certificates, and receipts for shares in the shipping line. Correspondence in the collection from UNIA and Garvey Club officials include letters from Marcus and Amy Jacques Garvey, Gershom Harris, Uriah Gittens and Cecil A. Walters and disclose such concerns as the negative portrayal of Blacks in film and the ongoing development of both the UNIA and Garvey Clubs. Antithetically opposed to such growth, the correspondence from British colonial officials in West Africa and the Caribbean reveal their anxieties about the increasing presence of UNIA members and propaganda in their colonies.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The Universal Negro Improvement Association miscellaneous collection consist of materials donated by various sources.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Allison Hughes. (2023 February 28)

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor