Jamaican-born Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey established the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica in 1914. In 1916, Garvey moved the headquarters of the UNIA from Jamaica to Harlem in New York City (NYC). The migration of large numbers of blacks from the southern United States and the Caribbean basin during World War I contributed to the growth of the UNIA in North America. As a pro-business conservative, in 1919 Garvey founded the Negro Factories Corporation (NFC) and offered stock in it to African Americans as a means to help black people to achieve economic independence. Among its many activities, the NFC ran three grocery stores and two restaurants in NYC. There is no available sources on what they sold (or their success), but most likely they had Caribbean and Southern foods and dishes because the majority of Garveyites had roots in these two regions. When I think of Garvey I think of Jamaica, and when I think of Jamaica I think of food like plantains, patties, and rice and peas. I love fish and vegetable patties, but patties come in a multitude of styles including jerk chicken and beef.
