Characteristics Of Black Nationalism In Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison

After slavery, there were two dominant mindsets of Black people, misguided and revolutionary. The years during slavery and the years following slavery produced many great Black leaders, inventors, authors and innovators. Many prominent leaders arose during the 20th century advocating Black Nationalism. Ralph Ellison used this idea of Black Nationalism in his literature. The Black Nationalist, Ras the Destroyer, from the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison displays many characteristics of Shaka Zulu, Marcus Garvey and Elijah Muhammad through his actions and beliefs throughout the novel. The first historical figure Ras the Destroyer resembles is Shaka Zulu. Shaka Zulu was the king of the Zulu Empire in what is now the country of South Africa.

Marcus Garvey was a proponent of Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism. He was born in Jamaica in 1887 but moved to the United States in 1916. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A.), which worked to unite Black people all around the world. His association promoted Black economic independence and political independence. In 1919, the U.N.I.A. launched the Black Star Line, which was a shipping company to establish trade between Africans in Africa and Africans in America. Marcus Garvey brought together around 4 million Africans under the U.N.I.A. He ran the U.N.I.A. until the C.I.A. sabotaged Garvey’s shipping company and in turn, he was charged for fraud and was deported back to Jamaica in 1927. Marcus Garvey has influenced the character of Ras the Destroyer by how he thinks. “’What is your pahst and where are you going’”? (Ellison 375). By saying, this Ras is asking if the Invisible Man knows the history of his people and how he is going to help the advancement of his people. This philosophy of knowing your history and using it to help the advancement of your people was strongly emphasized by Marcus Garvey and Ras uses this philosophy many times when making speeches throughout the book. Ras also appealed to many Black people. “…the corner well lighted and the all Negro crowd large and tightly packed” (Ellison 367). Ras the destroyer would always draw large crowds of people and

He displayed the courage of Shaka Zulu. He has the mindset of Marcus Garvey. He also has the attitude of Elijah Muhammad. The characteristics he has shown throughout the novel shows that Ras the Destroyer is these three men rolled into