26th Annual Student Research Conference
Black Nationalism and the "Back to Africa" Movement in Twentieth Century America
Aaron M. Johnson
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
The Back to Africa movement created Africa as a homeland in the minds of many African Americans. The grand vision of the African homeland inspired many African Americans to want to return to Africa. This essay explores how leaders of the movement, Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. DuBois, viewed Africa in an imagined sense. DuBois concept of double consciousness is used to frame the understanding why African Americans would strive for an African homeland. The conclusion of the essay is that the movement failed to send people back to Africa because there was a disconnect between the reality of returning to Africa and the way that was imagined by African Americans. While the movement did not successfully send people back to Africa it did give African Americans a sense of pride and inspired future movements.
Keywords: Back to Africa, Black Nationalism, Africa, Black, African American, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois
Topic(s):Sociology
African-American Studies
Geography
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 210-4
Location: MG 1000
Time: 10:15