It is notable that Harlem did not have a thriving black bank sector, or at least one similar to that enjoyed by other major cities—not only because Harlem was located just a few miles from the heart of American capitalism on Wall Street, but more significantly because Harlem at the time was the focal point of a new and powerful strand of black nationalism championed by Marcus Garvey.84 Garvey was not as prominent a national leader as Du Bois or Washington, but he was undoubtedly the most influential voice emanating from the northern ghetto—a voice that would echo throughout the twentieth
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