Letter From Una Brown to Marcus Garvey on His Majesty
Hon. Marcus Garvey. Sir, I read your article in the August issue of the “Black Man” entitled “The Italian Conquest,” also your unjust criticism of Emperor Haile Selassie.
We in America do not believe those are your sentiments. Sir, you know Abyssinia was hemmed in by colonies dominated by whites. When Mussolini declared his intention of subduing Ethiopia he made it clear that his specific reason was to suppress the arms traffic for the benefit of Europe. That statement met with the approval of all Europe. What excuse could the Emperor give for setting up a munitions factory?
Mussolini also stated there were eleven coloured to every one white person in the world and if the whites were to continue to dominate they must control the world. You speak about slavery in Abyssinia as though it was the kind of slavery we were put in by the Europeans. King Menelik’s mother was a slave. That’s the facility Abyssinian slavery may have. Here we are free in the Western Hernisphere yet we are segregated even in the churches where all must humble themselves before God.
The Emperor is a descendant of Solomon. Why should he renounce his right to his heritage on either side? Solomon was a Jew, “black but comely.” The original Jews were a black race, history tells us. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba give him a background rivalled by no other monarch in the world. I feel like a lot of others that you have been quite unfair in your writing. The Emperor’s wife is an Ethiopian. Why do you blame him for the wives his diplomats marry? Moses’ wife was an African woman, not of Jewish stock, and he led the children of Israel through the Red Sea. Solomon fell in love with the Queen of Sheba who was not of his race, but whose country supplied the gold for the building of the temple which God desired. Napoleon’s wife was a coloured woman from the West Indies and France was the greatest country in Europe during Napoleon’s reign, but the French did not exile him for marrying a colored woman.
Speaking about the help we rendered Ethiopia, it was very little; and from all appearances there was an undercurrent of “dirt” somewhere. But Ethiopia shall be redeemed and her rightful heir shall sit on her throne. Sir, we have always looked upon you as a great leader, but those statements about the Emperor have given us cause to wonder if you are your original self.
About your letter to the Ethiopian Government, returned unopened, that was proof enough the letter was not delivered, and if it was the Emperor could not have read it through an unbroken seal. You extol the idea of the Negroes standing behind the British Government. Yes, so they can sell out like they did Abyssinia. “Yes, my Lord.” We hated DuBois for antagonizing you; and you who have done so much for the race, surprise the entire race for saying the Emperor has outlived his usefulness and should seek asylum in a monastery. For your own prestige and the high esteem which the race holds for you, it would mean a lot if you would retract those statements and resume the place of honour and confidence which our hearts hold for you.
With deepest regret from one who knows what the Negroes in America are saying; one who would like to see you reach the heights as an ardent supporter of your principles, I beg to call your attention to this great mistake and trust you will rectify same for the benefit of an awakening race and the honour due you in history.
I remain, Yours truly,
UNA BROWN
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Dear Madam,
I have before me your very interesting letter written from New York, under date of August 31st, and which reached my office here during my absence in Canada. I have observed your displeasure over the article entitled “Italian Conquest?” which appeared in the July-August Issue of the “Black Man.” You are peeved because the Emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie, has been criticised for the purpose of clarifying the complicated situation of the Italo-Abyssinian war and temporary defeat of Abyssinia.
It is for me to inform you that whilst I appreciate your enthusiasm[,] I cannot in the same manner compliment your intelligence, because there is no man on earth above criticism. The Emperor of Abyssinia was not only Emperor in himself, but he held a trust as Emperor of the only surviving Negro Empire in Africa, and by his behaviour he has betrayed that trust consciously or unconsciously. Some Negroes, therefore, cannot compliment him as you want us to do, for the betrayal of that trust, but naturally must seek a way to explain the situation so that the entire world may not think that we are all entirely void not only of racial pride but of character.
You refer to “we in America.” I do not know whom you mean by “we.” I think the “we” means yourself, because knowing the race as I do, I think that when they have the facts before them they do not act so silly as to let other people laugh at them. From the nature of your letter it doesn’t appear that you are a Negro at all, because if you were you could not be so ruthless in encouraging the male members of your race to go throughout the world intermarrying with other races, to the disadvantage of their own. You seem to take great pride in intermarriage with the opposite races. As far as this is concerned, that alienates you from all racial respect as far as I am concerned. I respect and love my race and I feel that the majority of Negroes in America do the same, so that when you write of “we in America” I surely believe you are only referring to your own feeling and not to that of any appreciable number of sensible Negroes who have read the article to which you refer.
You refer to Mussolini’s intention of subduing Ethiopia. Mussolini had no more right to the intention than the Emperor of Abyssinia had to the proper intention of defending his country. You seem to put Mussolini on a pedestal like a god and reduce the Emperor to an imbecile who is bound by every caprice of Mussolini’s, to the extent of not preparing himself and his country against the vile Italian onslaught. That Mussolini stated there were eleven coloured persons to every white one in the world, was no reason why Haile Selassie should keep his country unprepared, but very good argument why he should have been ready to strike a blow in defence of national integrity. I cannot understand you at all when you try to condone slavery among Negroes. If you like the kind of slavery that the Abyssinians have been kept in by their Government, why didn’t you go there and live under it. Probably you would have been an Empress later on. Your remarks are very simple and show that you are not competent to discuss a matter as important as that which was taken up under the title “Italian Conquest” in the last issue of “The Black Man.” If you think that any blood relationship between the Emperor of Abyssinia and Solomon will help him to settle important international questions of today, you may be considered an idle dreamer.
People do not care anything about Solomon to-day. They are very much interested in conditions as they are; and as suggested, if the Emperor had paid more attention to modern diplomacy and scientific politics, rather than flattering himself over the idea of his being descended from Solomon, making him superior to the other Abyssinians, because they are black, he would have been still Emperor and we would have been proud of him as our representative.
All the coloured women to whom you refer, from Sheba to Josephine of France[,] have all given away something. Sheba gave away her gold, Josephine gave away her loyalty and devotion and was left in the cold, Moses lost the respect of his sister and brother because he married a black woman, and God himself had to intervene to save Moses from their wrath, the provocation of which with other things prevented Moses from seeing the Promised Land.
You suggest that the Emperor should not be blamed for appointing diplomats to represent Abyssinia who are married to white women, and particularly Italians. If this is the state of your mind as a critic of international matters, than it is plain to be seen that you are only dabbling in something with which you are not competent to express a sensible opinion. It is the very fact that his diplomats had dual affiliations why he was so double-crossed, and even as far as Italy was concerned knew nothing about the preparations Italy was making for fifteen years to attack him, even though he had an ambass[ad]or resident in Rome – but the Ambassador [Negrus Yesus Afework] was married to an Italian woman.
You are quite welcome to withdraw from me any good opinion you had of me, if that opinion was based only on your desire for me to play the fool in handling important questions vital to the interest of our race. You expect me to condemn the British Government unnecessarily, just for the vanity of doing so or the madness thereof. There are times when not only the British Government should be criticised in their treatment toward Negroes but any other Government, but when the British Government or any Government is acting in a manner to be complimented in any particular, it is only a fool who would consistently condemn such a Government, and that is what apparently you want me to do. As leader of an important Negro movement I am not inclined to be always making enemies among Governments for my race rather than friends. If you want to do that, you are quite privileged to do so, but you will not inveigle me into such a practice simply to get your approval. My suggestion of the Emperor going to a Monastery is in keeping with his religious professions. As a fact, he has very little of politics in him but much of religion. When he should be fighting he was always praying even though his Government held slaves. His prayers were not answered because he held slaves, quite inconsistent with the manner of approach to receive God’s true blessing.
When men fail in major matters they either take a rest or they are pushed aside by others who are better able to succeed. When through the disloyalty of my associates I failed to carry out all the aims and objects of the Organisation that I was leading I had to retire for quite a long time to allow others to do better than I could. It was only after finding their inability to do that much better that I was universally requested to assume aggressive leadership once more in the said movement. So that I was not unmindful of the responsibilities and duties of leaders when they failed, when I suggested to the Emperor that he retire to a Monastery, but at the same time pray for the safe-conduct of his country.
You asked me to retract the things I wrote in the article for my own prestige and the high esteem in which I was held by you and others. I am sorry I cannot oblige you. As a leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association I have a duty to perform, not only to the members of the Organization but to the race, and it is for me to explain to them why Abyssinia failed in the war with Italy, for the time being. It was purely through the bad diplomacy of Haile Selassie who surrounded himself with white advisers and who himself pretended to be white and who continued such a policy even up to his arrival inENGLAND, where he made it a feature to entertain white people particularly white ladies, and whose conduct exposed him to the severest of criticism as far as loyalty to his own race is concerned.
Again it is stated that there is no desire to be unfair or unkind to the Emperor but there is a desire to give correct information to the race so that its members may know how to act in the matter. I have the honour to be, Your obedient servant,
MARCUS GARVEY
