Marcus Garvey Was That Guy: Why His Legacy Is Trending Again in 2025

C. Aigner Ellis
4 days ago
2 min read

If you’ve been on Jubilee’s Surrounded lately, you’ve probably seen Amanda Seales put it plain: “I am not a liberal. I am a Black radical.” And if you’ve opened Spotify this month, you might have caught Chance the Rapper’s new EP Starline, a sonic ode to Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line. Two moments, one message: Garveyism is back in the chat.

But before we get too deep into the discourse, let’s rewind. Who was Marcus Garvey, and why does he suddenly feel so current?

The Blueprint: Marcus Garvey 101

Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Jamaica in 1887, but his ideas made him a household name across the Black world. Through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), he preached self-reliance, group economics, and global solidarity for people of African descent. His most ambitious project? The Black Star Line, a shipping company designed to connect Black communities worldwide. The dream wasn’t just about boats—it was about power. Garvey taught that freedom required ownership, not assimilation.

Sound familiar? That’s because his influence runs through Malcolm X, through Pan-African flags, through every “Buy Black” campaign on TikTok. Garveyism is less a history lesson than a living blueprint.

Amanda Seales: The Radical in the Room

On Surrounded, Amanda Seales stood her ground against Black conservatives by refusing to frame her politics as left vs. right. Instead, she leaned into her lineage of radical Black thought. Garvey’s energy was all over her declaration: identity before ideology, sovereignty before assimilation. Seales’ moment reminded viewers that Garveyism isn’t about nostalgia—it’s about strategy. It’s about rejecting the idea that liberation comes through approval from the mainstream.

Chance the Rapper: Soundtracking Garveyism 3.0

Meanwhile, Chance the Rapper is bringing Garveyism to the aux cord. With Starline, he doesn’t just nod to history; he reimagines it. The project fuses soulful samples, Garvey speeches, and modern liberation bars about co-ops, education, and digital sovereignty. For a generation raised on both hip-hop and hashtags, Chance is turning Garvey’s blueprint into a playlist.

Why Garveyism Hits Different in 2025

So why now? In an era where diversity initiatives are being stripped from schools and corporations, Garvey’s call for independence feels urgent. Online, young creators remix Garvey’s ideas into content about land trusts, crypto reparations, and Black mutual aid. Offline, grassroots orgs are pushing co-ops and economic hubs inspired by his vision. The “Back to Africa” movement might not mean boarding a ship today—but it can mean buying land, investing in diaspora startups, or reclaiming culture without permission slips.