Even though he was not highly educated, yet Marcus Garvey was well informed of not only the plight of the black man in the Americas and that of his compatriot under colonial rule in his ancestral homeland but also the difficulties they encountered in their attempts to alleviate their situations. It was in these circumstances that he founded his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to champion the crusade of black liberation. His preachings in Harlem and on the pages of the Negro World as well as his compendium – The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey did conjour illusions of freedom in many an African nationalist leader prominent among whom was Kwame Nkrumah. On attainment of independence, Nkrumah not only hosted two PanAfrican conferences but also made his country a haven for other nationalist leaders. His writings and active involvement in the crusade of African liberation led directly to the foundation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its principled stance against the minority and apartheid regimes in then Southern Rhodesia and South Africa respectively.
Keywords: Black Leadership, Black Liberation, Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey
