Amy Ashwood Garvey - Revolutionary Black Feminist
From Kingston to Harlem to London, Amy Ashwood Garvey (1897 - 1969) stood out as a formidable political thinker, organiser, and Black feminist leader. Yet, while most people will have heard of Marcus Garvey (1887 - 1940), the Black nationalist, Pan Africanist and co-founder of the The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA/ACL), far fewer are familiar with Amy Ashwood, his first wife. Indeed, she lived her life, and their short marriage, in his shadow. When in fact, she was a pivotal figure in struggle for freedom.
As a child, she learnt from her grandmother how European slave traders kidnapped her ancestors from the Ashanti Kingdom, present day Ghana, and enslaved them in Jamaica, where Amy was born - undoubtedly instilling in her the strong sense of social and racial justice that she became known for.
In 1914, at the age of 17, she met Marcus Garvey, with whom she shared a passion for the rights of African and African-descended peoples of the Atlantic world, for Jamaican liberation, and Pan-Africanism more broadly. Together, they co-founded the UNIA, which, overtime, would gain major political and cultural significance globally, giving voice to millions of people of African descent, the the Negro World newspaper, and more … but when you search online, her name rarely appears in the credits.
Amy focused on creating the women’s section of the UNIA, channelling her commitment to fighting gendered oppression. This, in particular, differentiated her from Marcus, who harboured staunch patriarchal views and preferred her to play a subservient role in the organisation. Ironically, he was a proponent of Victorian values pertaining gender roles, and opposed women's leadership, early Black feminism, and birth control, which he described as a form of "race suicide."
But enough about him!
They moved to the U.S. in 1918 and Amy became a pivotal figure as the Secretary of the New York City branch of the UNIA, and the Harlem Renaissance - one of the most significant African-American intellectual and cultural movements in the nations’ history. Their brief marriage ended acrimoniously and Marcus worked hard to exclude Amy from the UNIA. But in many ways, their divorce marked a new, radical beginning for her.
The London Years
She first moved to London in the 1920s - a city that was both the seat of British colonial power and a hub of anti-colonial thought. Here she rubbed shoulders with other key figures of the Pan-African movement.
In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia amidst huge outcry. Amy Ashwood co-founded the International African Friends of Abyssinia (IAFA) with CLR James and Chris Braithwaite. They were soon joined by George Padmore, Jomo Kenyatta and Ras Makonnen. The IAFA sent a clear message of solidarity from the African diaspora to those on the continent that their struggles were indivisible.
The Honorable Amy Ashwood Garvey speaks before a London crowd at Trafalgar Square, denouncing the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.“No race has been so noble in forgiving, but now the hour has struck for our complete emancipation. We will not tolerate the invasion of Abyssinia.“ Mrs. Garvey said: “In this struggle, the Black women are marching beside the men. You white people brought us out of Africa to Christianize us and civilize us, but all the Christianity and civilization you gave us for 320 years was slavery. You have talked of ‘The White Man’s burden.’ Now we are carrying yours and standing between you and Fascism.”
She warned the British Government that if this became a struggle between the “Blacks” and the “Whites” that three quarters of the people of the Empire are colored.
Jamaica Gleaner, September 11, 1935.
(Quote and image from Charmaine Simpson, Center Manager at Black Cultural Centre Islington)
Putting women front and centre of Black Liberation
Her unflinching commitment to gender justice set her apart from most men in the Black Liberation movement. She understood that there could be no liberation without Black women - or as she put it: “I do not think I should be asked to wait until all men are liberated before I can be free.”
As she continued to travel across the Atlantic, building a Pan-African network, she tirelessly positioned women’s rights at the centre of the struggle. In the 1940’s, she returned to Jamaica where she stood (unsuccessfully) in national elections, using her platform to promote trade unionism, gender justice, and Jamaican culture. She had her own radio show, The Feminine Point of View, elevating women’s voices at a time when they were glaringly absent.
During her tour of the Caribbean in the 1950s, she helped found the Barbados Women’s Alliance, and in 1953, she helped set up the Afro-Women’s Centre in West London, where she lived.
Enduring Legacy
Black women faced intersecting forms of oppression that were deeply rooted in colonialism and double exclusion. While this might feel commonplace in 2026, it certainly wasn’t in 1945 - the year of the he groundbreaking fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester. Amy Ashwood played a key role in organising the Congress, bringing her astute political and intersectional analysis to steer and influence its outcomes.
It is for all this and more that she deserves to be remembered and celebrated.
A blue Nubian Jak Community Trust plaque (above) was unveiled in November 2009 - 40 years after her death - at 1 Bassett Road, Ladbroke Grove, London W10 6LA.
More recently Black feminist artist, researcher and curator, Nydia A Swaby has shone a befitting and very welcome tribute in her book Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives. You can also read this excellent interview with Nydia A Swaby in Black Women Radicals to find out more about the incredible Amy Ashwood Garvey.
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