Negro Factories Corporation

Negro Factories Corporation of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, was the "finance arm",[1] capitalized for $1 million,[2] offering stock shares, at $5 each,[2] for African-Americans to buy,[3] to provide loans to establish black-owned businesses.[4]

The Negro Factories Corporation was intended to "build and operate factories in the big industrial centers of the United States, Central America, the West Indies and Africa to manufacture every marketable commodity."[5] It was an effort for economic development within communities of African descent. Businesses included a chain of grocery stores, a restaurant, a steam laundry, a tailor and dressmaking shop, a millinery store and a publishing house. The UNIA had difficulty keeping the businesses going, and by the mid-1920s, many had closed.[5]

In 1921, Negro Factories Corporation became insolvent.[6][7]

"Garvey appointed inexperienced people to run organizations because he valued loyalty over competence".[8]

"Financial mismanagement of these organizations led to his indictment on mail fraud charges in 1922. He was convicted and sentenced to Atlanta's federal penitentiary in 1925."[9]

References

  1. ^ "Universal Negro Improvement Association". American Experience. PBS. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b Garrett-Scott, Shennette (Summer 2019). "A Commercial Emancipation" for the Negro" (PDF). Financial History. Museum of American Finance. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association". National Humanities Center. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Marcus Garvey". The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Columbia University. Retrieved 5 December 2024. Multimedia Study Environment (MSE) of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was produced by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) in collaboration with Columbia University's Center for Contemporary Black History (CCBH).
  5. ^ a b Cronon, Edmund David (1960-03-15). Black Moses: The Story of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. ISBN 9780299012137. Retrieved 2013-11-19 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Negro Factories Corporation". Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  7. ^ Abdellatif, Gabriel (20 April 2017). "Marcus Garvey: A Legacy Obscured by Infamy". Young Historians Conference. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Marcus Garvey: Leader of the People". Global Black History. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  9. ^ "The New Negro Movement". National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): A Century in the Fight for Freedom. Library of Congress. 21 February 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2024.