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 century. Unlike Du Bois and Washington, Garvey was not interested in the South’s problems, nor did he care to speak to the black middle class or whites. His primary concern was for the “poor black masses” living in northern ghettos. His answer for them was to embrace
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