Prepare for a visit to AAMLO with these special topic resource guides.
This resource guide is intended to help users locate holdings at AAMLO related to Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A.)
It highlights holdings in the following areas:
● Selected Library Material at AAMLO
● Selected Archival Collections at AAMLO
Other collections may contain relevant materials. Please contact AAMLO (aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org) with any questions or to schedule an appointment to view materials in person.
Selected Library Materials
The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers
Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey
Aims and Objects of Movement for the Solution of the Negro Problem Outlined by Marcus Garvey
Footsoldiers of the Universal Negro Improvement Association : Their Own Words edited by Jeannette Smith-Irvin
Garvey and Garveyism by Amy Jacques Garvey
Organizing Black America : An Encyclopedia of African American Associations
Selected Archival Collections
African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph Collection. Includes a photograph of a 1924 meeting of Oakland Division No. 188 of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A.) at Oakland's Liberty Hall. Originally chartered in December of 1920, Oakland's U.N.I.A. Local No. 188 first met at the Carpenters' Hall at Twelfth and Brush streets. In 1926 it purchased Liberty Hall, which still stands at Chester and Eighth streets, where regular meetings, lectures, rallies, dances, and celebrations were held. Typical meetings featured poetry, musical and dramatic presentations, and lectures. Guest speakers from such countries as India and China stressed solidarity among "colored races" and denounced white supremacy. The U.N.I.A. published The Ethiopian Digest as the official organ of its Pacific Coast branches in Oakland under the editorship of Arthur S. Grey.
Frances Albrier Papers. In 1921, social activist Frances Albrier (1898-1987) attended a lecture by Marcus Garvey at the Oakland Auditorium. Inspired by Garvey's remarks, she became actively involved with the Black Cross Nurses to help secure financial aid and bolster moral support in the U.N.I.A. movement. Albrier was elected Vice-President of The Women's Auxiliary of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Oakland in 1923.
Ruth Beckford Papers. Dancer, teacher, and author Ruth Beckford was born on December 7, 1925 in Oakland, California, the youngest of four children of Cora and Felix Beckford. Both her parents were leading officers and members in the U.N.I.A Oakland division. Felix Beckford served as secretary of Oakland Division No. 188 of the U.N.I.A. and her mother also worked as a Black Cross nurse. Included in the Beckford papers are interviews with U.N.I.A. member W.A. Deane and her mother Cora Fowler Beckford. Also included is an interview with artist Urania P. Cummings discussing the Bay Area West Indian community and Garveyism.
African American Museum & Library at Oakland Vertical File Collection. Selected items related to Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A.) include:
- letters from Marcus Garvey to W.A. Deane regarding membership and fundraising dated 1929, 1936, and 1937
- minutes of proceedings of the speech by the honorable Marcus Garvey at the Century Theatre on September 2, 1928
- renewal of a petition of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League to the League of Nations dated 1928
- a list of U.N.I.A. divisions & chapters dated 1988
- Liberty Hall (1483-1485 8th street Oakland, California) National Register of Historic Place registration form
- various documents related to the early history of Beth Eden Baptist Church including volumes of The Baptist Herald bulletin. Beth Eden Baptist Church was one of many Oakland congregations to support U.N.I.A. efforts, hosting well-attended lectures by Minister of Legions Captain E.L. Gaines and Marcus Garvey.
Additional Information
Search the library using the catalog.
Consult AAMLO's finding aids in the Online Archive of California.
We are working to create new resource guides. Have an idea for a new guide? Contact us at aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org.
