The Black Star Line was a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, organizer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The shipping line was supposed to facilitate the transportation of goods and eventually African Americans throughout the African global economy. It derived its name from the White Star Line, a line whose success Garvey felt he could duplicate, which would become a standard of his Back-to-Africa movement. It was one among many businesses which the UNIA originated, such as the Universal Printing House, Negro Factories Corporation, and the widely distributed and highly successful Negro World newspaper.
The Black Star Line and its successor, the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, operated between 1919 and 1922. It stands today as a major symbol for Garvey followers and African Americans in search of a way to get back to their homeland.
Read more about Black Star Line: History, References in Popular Music
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